I'm Not Perfect
by Half-Blind Otaku
Summary: "I'm. Not. Perfect!" so Weiss had said during initiation, and though she hated admitting it even to herself, it was absolutely true. "But I'm still leagues better than you," was she though? Follows Weiss as she comes to terms with her past and personal shortcomings. This story leans rather heavily on the action and feels; please let me know what you think in reviews & such. Enjoy!
1. Not So Above It All

**Author's Note: I do not own RWBY and am in no way affiliated with Rooster Teeth.**

A flustered Weiss Schnee slapped her pen down on her desk and, patience sapped by the incessant repetition of _hey Weiss… hey Weiss… hey Weiss… _and paper footballs from the less academic of her teammates; being a nuisance must run in the family. Though Blake had mercifully found her books of dubious academic value more absorbing than similarly making a pest of herself, but nature hates a vacuum, and so Ruby and Yang had apparently been more than happy to compensate for this deficiency in their bookish faunas teammate. Collecting her books in a huff as she stood from the desk and pushed the chair back in (frustrated though she was, there was no excuse forget her manners) and then turned for the door, intent on resuming her studies in the library.

"I'll be in the library," she announced, doing her best to limit the depth of the scowl on her face; she was trying to be nice, but old habits die hard, "don't need me,"

Yang made a pitiful attempt to conceal the latest paper football that she'd been aiming at the back of Weiss's head, "Uh… sure…"

"Okay, but Weiss…"

Weiss suppressed the urge to cringe…. and cringe... and cringe… "Yes, Ruby?"

"Don't forget that we've got that practice session this afternoon…"

"Isn't Goodwitch reffing?" Yang asked, accidentally dropping her paper football down onto Blake's bed.

"Mmmhm," Blake responded, only half paying attention as she appropriated the lost projectile as a new bookmark.

"Guess we can't go easy on Jaune then…"

"I'll be in the library," Weiss repeated, proceeding out of the room without further delay.

"What's her issue?" Yang muttered, but then her lavender eyes sprang wide open, "Crap! Did we have a test coming up?"

"Nope," Blake answered dispassionately, turning a page.

Ruby sat up in her bed and unfolded Crescent Rose to lovingly polish it, shrugging, "I think that she just really really likes to study,"

"Does she really _like _anything?"

* * *

Grimm Studies. Weiss had read this rather blandly titled text front to back a dozen times since coming to Beacon, but diligence hurt no one, and it only took one carelessness slip to meet with unfortunate consequences. Still, she couldn't help coming to the realization that, as she sat there in a lonely corner of the library with her palm pressed to her face that she had been bored of this before she'd left team RWBY's dorm. Ruby's piteous attempts to initiate conversation, though she was trying far too hard, and Yang's mischievous wastes of paper that she really ought to have used for taking notes might have been irksome, each in its own special way, but at the least it hadn't been this dull...

_No! Studying is important! Get it together you dunce! If you don't study you won't graduate at the head of the class and then…_

Weiss moved her had up and out of her face, displacing her hair until her fingers brushed over the scar above her left eye, causing her fingers to recoil, and then she set her had down on the table.

_No excuses Weiss, You are a Schnee! You must be worthy of the name… _

Still, the Vytal festival just days away, and she had to admit to herself that her preparation for the tournament would be better served by practicing with Myrtenaster and a certain scythe-wielding spaz then by inflicting headaches upon herself by reading books that she had almost committed to memory _again…_

Glancing surreptitiously over at the entrance of the quiet study room, Weiss stood, quietly moved to the door, and shut it. She had an hour to kill yet, so she may as well use it practically… Not that she was fool enough to let loose with Myrtenaster's dust chambers or even her aura, but there was enough room in around the table to practice some footwork. Without further pause she drew her weapon and took a fencing stance.

* * *

And there she was, facing a pack of Beowolves, with only a moment to take a deep breath before the penny dropped and the scene erupted in chaos. Letting out the breath as the boldest of the Grimm bounded forward at her; taking a step forward as the beast prepared to maul her, she plunged Myrtenaster into the monster's chest up to the hilt. Drawing in another breath as she withdrew the rapier, she stepped back, pivoting out on her right foot, allowing the next beast, which had been attempting to attack her from behind to instead collide with its now mortally wounded pack-mate, whereupon Weiss drove Myrtenaster through its temple. Moving into a slashing stroke as she pulled the sword from the second Boevolf's skull, she cut a third open across the stomach, ducking and stepping out of the way as the gored monster collapsed. Combining a pirouette with a slashing attack she tore a red gash across another Beowolf's jugular, and then, reversing her grip on Myrtenaster, she combined a backward step with a thrust directly into the gaping jaws of a fifth assailant.

She took another breath.

Resorting for the first time to her aura, she generated a glyph so as to augment her jump, and thus narrowly escaping the claws of a half-dozen other slavering Beowolves. Landing upon the a nearby boulder protruding from the ground as she came out of her backflip, she wasted no time restoring her fighting stance in time to run the first enemy to clamber up after her through, pulling back just as quickly as the beast fell back to earth. Felling two more with a single stroke of her rapier, she was nonetheless forced to step back to the edge of the boulder by the remaining three Beowolves that had managed to lumber onto equal footing with her. She would not allow these _things _to best her though, with a twist of her wrist, a shimmering vertical blue glyph appeared between the huntress-in-training and her prey; the Beowolves were powerless to escape as the glow intensified and the glyph emitted such force upon them that they were all thrown back against the nearby trees.

"Uh… Weiss?

The Schnee heiress visibly flinched, never before having so loathed the sound of her own name, "Yes, Ruby?" she answered with clenched teeth, eyes closed.

"Well, I was coming to get you 'cause our match with Team JNPR is in ten minutes… but if you're not feeling alright…" Ruby tugged nervously on the sides of her red cloak, not wanting to say something to upset Weiss further.

The heiress's eyes shot open almost as fast as her face reddened at the sight of her books splayed open and scattered on the floor against the far wall, at which point she also realized that she was standing on the study table, sword drawn…

"Gah! Ruby! Why didn't you knock? Were you raised in a barn?"

Ruby embarrassedly scuffed her shoe on the floor, "Mmmm… I kind of did… several times…"

Weiss's eyes widened still further, _Crap! Crap! Crap!_

"Your moves were impressive…" Ruby offered weakly, "I would've just stayed outside watching, but I figured I ought to step in when you started abusing your books…"

Arriving at the conclusion that this conversation would be slightly less embarrassing if she were to conduct it from virtually anywhere other than standing on a table, Weiss searched for a dignified means of getting down, but found that the same finishing move that scattered her books on the floor had also toppled the chars, so she was forced to awkwardly hop down before glaring daggers at Ruby, "We shall never speak of this again, do you understand?"

Ruby blinked several times, but nodded all the same, perplexingly stepping backwards and putting up her arms defensively, "Sure just… don't hurt me!"

It was Weiss's turn to blink confusedly several times, bemused until she glanced down and recalled that she was still holding Myrtenaster drawn, and realizing this, quickly sheathing it, "Right, now, help me pick up these books and we'll be along to meet the others? Mustn't keep Professor Goodwitch waiting…"

"Uh... right…"


	2. Discipline vs Talent

**Author's Note: Hi everybody, I'm back! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think about this one. I intend to write at least four chapters of this story, but it might go on longer, depending on how the story evolves. Enjoy!**

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Glynda Goodwitch began after curtly acknowledging Weiss and Ruby's late arrival, "in light of the rapidly approaching Vytal festival, and the combat tournament thereof, in which _all _of you have expressed interest in competing…" Professor Goodwitch shot Jaune a withering look, but offered no further criticism, "Professor Ozpin has decided to suspend classes until the conclusion of festivities; that said I see no reason why we need waste that time."

Weiss nodded approvingly while Yang took a boxing stance with an ear to ear grin, and Ruby took to stroking the Crescent Rose like cherished pet. Only Blake, her nose buried in book with a blank sleeve, appeared totally unmoved. Across the field stood team JNPR arrayed opposite team RWBY; Nora mirrored Yang's huge smile, spinning her hammer like it were just a little baton. Pyrrha smiled pleasantly, and Jaune seemed nervous, but then, when didn't he? Similar to Blake, Ren was unruffled over on the JNPR side, though ostensibly more attentive to Professor Goodwitch.

"To that end, it has been suggested that interested teams practice together for the tournament-,"

"Uh, Professor Goodwitch? Were we really the only teams to sign up for this?"

Weiss let out an unimpressed sigh; it was such a Jaune question, practically a repeat of the initiation.

"No, Mr. Arc," Goodwitch glared at him again, "If you'd prefer to practice with team CRDL, Professor Port would be happy to have you in the eastern field,"

Jaune visibly flinched, "Uh… no thank you ma'am…"

Yang sniggered despite recent events, earning a swift sisterly elbow to the ribs to shut her up.

"At any rate, let's start with paired exercises; turn to your partners and take five minutes to spar; after that, reconvene and take a few minutes to discuss each other's strengths and weakness before reporting for the next exercise. Any questions?'

"Team RWBY ready to go!" Ruby added with an enthusiastic salute.

Finding no objection from team JNPR, Goodwitch nodded approvingly, "Good, now face your partners and begin!"

The four pairs spread out across the available space of the field, and suddenly it was just Ruby and Weiss; the rest was just so much background. Breathing deep, she drew Myrtenaster and leveled it in Ruby's direction. As she met those silver eyes across the few meters distance between them Weiss's grip tightened about the hilt of her weapon. _This is your chance Weiss; show them all how great you are, show this child how much better-. _Weiss shook her head, _no, this is practice; Ruby and I are partners- think teammate, not rival…_

Ruby lowered her scythe for a moment as the others started in earnest, "Weiss… are you alright?"

The heiress straightened her posture afresh and blinked a few times, "Of course you dunce! Now let's get this over with!"

"Alright, here I come!" before the red-cloaked girl could even finish her broad smile she was gone, as though she had simply vanished.

_Where did she-? GAH!_

Weiss barely sidestepped the first stroke of Ruby's crimson blade,

_Damn, that was fast!_

Quickly composing herself, Weiss conjured a glyph at her feet so as to drift safely out of the Crescent Rose's reach and take stock of the situation. During the initiation in the Emerald Forest, Ruby had been all over the place in streaks of red and black almost too fast to be followed by the eye, always attacking to the exclusion of any other maneuvers, but now…no, that was exactly how she was coming at Weiss now too. Weiss rolled her eyes, _such a spaz-_

She couldn't finish that thought though, as three more consecutive strokes from her hyperactive team leader forced her to backpedal again. As Ruby kept coming, spurred to even greater determination by her succession of near-misses, Weiss found herself at a loss for what to do; the little maniac didn't give her a moment to think. She gritted her teeth as she adjusted Myrtenaster's dust chamber to the red setting, _No excuse Weiss! A Grimm wouldn't give you time to think either! _

As Ruby wound up for a vicious spinning attack, Weiss took her first action beyond evasion. Holding out Myrtenaster to block Ruby's hurricane of blows, Weiss allowed a slight grin to tug at the corner of her mouth as the younger girl's crimson scythe met with the percussive barrier of flaming Dust and was set off balance, a surprised look on her face. Seizing the initiative, Weiss skated forward to close the distance between them, putting herself inside Ruby's attack reach. Eyes wide, Ruby barely managed to twist to the side fast enough for Weiss's thrust to miss her stomach by inches. Pirouetting so as not to waste the momentum of withdrawing her sword, Weiss followed up with a lateral stroke, this one connecting and sending Ruby to a knee. Weiss was about to exploit the perceived opening when Ruby's sly grin and the sound of the rifle chamber cocking stopped her cold and she noticed that the Crescent was immediately behind her.

_Crap!_

With a panicked flick of the wrist Weiss used the Glyph that she'd been standing on to propel herself skyward as the Crescent Rose discharged and the blade cut through where she'd been standing a heartbeat earlier, _That would have bruised…_

Not about to let Ruby's smug look go unanswered however, Weiss responded by lunching a Dust-fueled fireball at Ruby as she landed on a fresh glyph and slid backward. Ruby lunged out of the path of the flaming destruction and leveled her 'sweetheart' in Weiss's direction, letting off three more shells. The Schnee heiress met the assault with a vertical barrier glyph, a shower of pale blue sparks erupting with each impact. By the time she'd let the shield fade, however, Ruby had vanished again, and it was only when the breath was knocked from Weiss's lungs that she discovered that Ruby had used the time Weiss had been preoccupied to dash forward and take a swing.

The heiress's footing evaporated as she tumbled down onto her back but before Ruby could seal the deal with a downward stroke, Weiss conjured a vertical glyph some meters away in the direction she had only just been facing; the circle of power darkened as Weiss felt herself being dragged towards it and once more out of Ruby's reach. The glyph righted itself as the felt her feet come into contact with it, and she was one more one her feet, facing a momentarily puzzled Ruby.

"How did you-? AAAH!" Ruby didn't have time to finish the question as three shafts of ice rocketed in her direction. Spinning the Crescent Rose instinctively, Ruby smashed the first two projectiles midair and arched herself backward to dodge the third. To prevent herself from falling onto her back she thrust the head of her weapon into the ground behind her and jumped backward in a partial flip until she was balanced aloft at the top of the shaft.

"Hey Weiss! Look!" Ruby called over, her voice muffled by her cloak, now draping down over her head, "I'm just like Nora at initiation!"

Weiss let out a sigh; _Does she think this a game?_

When she started to lose her balance, Ruby fired off the Crescent rose again, using the force to complete her partial backflip and land firmly on her two feet once more, "How was that?"

Weiss drew herself up for another charge and launched herself forward, Myrtenaster ready to strike, but Ruby, giggling like a schoolgirl, tore into another death spin with her scythe. Attacking that head on was suicide, so Weiss called up vertical glyph to allow her a sudden change in course, throwing herself instead thirty degrees to the right, rather than into the gaping maw of Ruby's favorite toy.

_Okay, so she can defend, _Weiss thought, once more taking stock of her options, _Now how do you get around THAT? Loopholes Weiss, think Loopholes! _

Realization dawned on her with a grin as she checked to confirm that Myrtenaster was still set to the blues setting, _Maybe I can't get close, but…_

Weiss took a knee, planting Myrtenaster into the ground, causing a sheet of ice to overtake the grass before her and surge towards Ruby. Too late the crimson-cloaked huntress-in-training realized her peril and slipped into a tumbling fall as the ground froze over beneath her. She only just avoided slamming to the frozen earth by plunging the Crescent Rose's blade into the earth and using it for support as she struggled to reclaim her footing on the sheet of glassy ice. Never one to waste an opportunity, Weiss sprang into action.

Ruby unceremoniously yanked herself out of the way by the haft of her weapon, pulling herself onto a reliable footing once more as she heaved her scythe out of the ground. Stifling the urge to growl in frustration, Weiss pivoted on her left foot and positioned herself for another pass. The distance was closed in an instant, and steel rang on steel in a flurry of blades. Weiss's attacks were frustrated at every stroke by Ruby's manic spinning defense. Weiss knew that if she could just get to Ruby before she could launch into that crimson pinwheel the Crescent Rose's sheer size would prove cumbersome in a close-quarters duel, but fast as she was she could never seem to get to Ruby quicker than she could turn herself into a human buzz-saw.

Weiss took a flustered glance down at her scroll while she waited just out of reach for Ruby to dizzy herself. Yellow. _This has to end. Now._

Then there it was: her opening. Ruby slowed and planted both as she ended the spin, disentangling her weapon from the otherwise impractical grip between her arms and back that enabled her spinning attack to take a more conventional hold of it. As the scarlet blade passed her by for the final time, Weiss lunged forward, sword-arm extended in a thrust for chest.

_I have her!_

The heiress's sense of triumph evaporated at the sound of Professor Goodwitch's whistle. Her pale blue eyes blinked several times as her focus shattered into a thousand pieces and she found that her assumption of victory had been a premature. Ruby had collapsed the Crescent Rose, and was holding the now considerably shortened barrel of the weapon inches shy of Weiss's chin. Weiss cursed herself silently for her carelessness and then Ruby in turn for the stupid grin on her face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, take a break to recover; In twenty minutes we'll move on to the next exercise," Professor Goodwitch instructed with an authoritative tone.

Ruby relaxed her shoulders and offered a hand to shake, "Call it a draw?"

The Schnee heiress lowered her weapon but remained tense, ignoring the handshake with an exasperated sigh, "Sure,"

A draw wasn't good enough though; Father certainly wouldn't approve. Worse still, as Weiss heaved breath after breath from the exertion, Ruby didn't seem to have so much as broken a sweat.

_In this world there are winners and losers, _Father had said it hundreds of times, _And I have no time for losers. _


	3. Taking a Breather

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the action scene in the last chapter, because we're not done with the RWBY / JNPR practice session yet, though this is admittedly the 'breather episode.' Enjoy, and please review!**

"I caught a Yang," Blake stated flatly, holding the grip of her weapon in one hand and the same little covered book as before in the other.

"Dammit Blake! Let me outta this!" Yang demanded impotently as she jerked about fruitlessly on the ground, wrists and ankles bound by the Gambol Shroud's ribbon.

"Uh.. Yang?"

"Yes, sister dearest?" Yang's eyes were starting to take on a reddish hue in her frustration.

"How'd she manage to tie you up like that?"

"I don't wanna talk about it…" Yang mumbled dejectedly before her anger returned, "Blake, so help me I'll-!"

Without a word Blake gave a little tug on her weapon and all of the sudden Yang was barrel-rolling in the grass with implausible speed until a few seconds later, when she came to rest facedown, hands and feet free.

"Thanks," Yang muttered, spitting out a mouthful of field, "but I better not have grass stains!"

Blake just shrugged; she was getting to the good part.

"So I guess Blake won your match huh sis?" Ruby asked, more a point of clarification than a real question.

"Yeah," the brawler admitted, still brushing bits of grass off of herself as she got to her feet again, "How 'bout you?"

"Tie," Ruby shrugged, "turns out Weiss can really move…"

"Damn, Princess! I didn't know you had it in ya!" Yang shouted over to the Schnee heiress, humiliation forgotten, "We'll have to go a round next time!"

"Right," Weiss replied half-heartedly, _there wouldn't have been a 'next time' if this hadn't been a training exercise. _

Yang cocked her head at Weiss's mellow response; normally Weiss _hated _being called 'princess.'

"Did you guys manage to catch any of the JNPR matches?" Ruby asked hopefully, kicking the grass bashfully, "we were kind of busy the whole time…"

Yang snorted, "Yeah; after I went down I saw the last few times Jaune got tossed like a ragdoll-," she sniggered, "it was actually pretty funny, especially the way Pyrrha apologized with every hit!"

"Ren and Nora couldn't get a solid hit in on each other though," Blake added, not sounding very interested.

As her teammates took the time to swap their accounts of the exercise, and in Yang's case, play damage control, Weiss found herself waxing contemplative. Seventeen years of education, training, and dedication to her goal; what had they all been for? She couldn't even handily trounce a girl _two years too young for Beacon! _She took a deep breath again, _calm down Weiss, at least Father didn't see-_

"Gah!" Weiss exclaimed with absolutely no regard to just how undignified the sound was, far too busy with the sudden task of disentangling herself from the one person she knew with more boundless energy than her team leader, "Nora! Get off me!"

The human incarnation of caffeine instantly complied, "Oops! Sorry Weiss! It's just that your fight was _SOOOO SHINY!"_

Weiss blinked several times in puzzlement, "Shiny?"

"Yeah!" Nora exploded, "First you were like _whoosh-, _and then it was _bang! _And then _BOOM! _I didn't see much after the fireball 'cause, you know, Ren, but-,"

"Hey Nora,"

"Yes?" she immediately clammed up at Weiss's questioning voice.

"How do you…" Weiss trailed off searching for more dignified words that weren't forthcoming, "do it? I mean, how are you always so happy and energetic all the time?"

Nora tilted her head to the side as she thought it over, though she made it plain that she did not grasp Weiss's meaning when she answered, "Well breakfast is _very important; _I prefer pancakes, do you like pancakes? _OH my gosh! We can be PANCAKE BUDDIES!" _

Weiss sighed, it seemed she was making a habit of that, "Never mind,"

Weiss let Ren coax Nora away when he caught up to his partner, and was once again left alone with her thoughts. No matter how she looked at it, she needed to be better, better than she was, she needed to be _good enough for Father. _Weiss shook her head, banishing the thought from her head; it wouldn't do any good to fret over this now; training was training, and she could improve. _She would improve. Strike that, I will do better. _

"You got that Weiss?"

The Heiress was jolted back to herself, "Ah, what!"

"The plan…" Yang raised an eyebrow, "Might help if you paid attention there Princess…"

"Uh, right," Weiss nodded, taking a step toward her three teammates until she saw that Yang had her arms draped over Ruby and Blake's shoulders, who in turn had their arms extended to beckon her into the circle, "What are you doing?"

"It's a huddle…" Ruby explained, dopey smile faltering from her face, "you know… a pre-game huddle… they do it on sports teams…"

"Eh…" Weiss rolled her eyes, "fine,"

"Yeah!" Ruby shouted _right in her ear, _as Weiss reluctantly joined the ring of interlocking arms and shoulders, "Now, one more time; take it away Blake!"

"Wait," Weiss interjected, "If you're the team leader, why aren't _you _making the plan?"

"Uhhh… Take it away, Blake!" Ruby dodged the question with all the finesse of an Ursa.

Weiss gritted her teeth, but let it go.

"Alright," Blake began, "for starters, we have one advantage that they don't," she jerked her head in in team JNPR's direction as they did a similar huddle across the field, "We have four _competent _fighters, where as they have three fighters and a Jaune-,"

"Blake! That isn't very nice-, Jaune is a nice guy…"

"A nice guy who'd blow away in a stiff breeze…" Yang mumbled.

Ruby shot her sister a glare, "You be nice too sis!"

"She's right though," Weiss agreed, begrudgingly entering the conversation, "Jaune is definitely their weakest link, so if we take him out first…"

Blake nodded, picking the line of thought back up, "then it'll be four on three. But if we want to get at Jaune, someone's going to have to go through Pyrrha first…"

Weiss kept her face blank, but she definitely shared in the sentiment so clearly given voice by the shiver that she felt run down Ruby's spine.

"Any volunteers?" Blake floated the question without much expectation coloring her voice.

"I can take her," Yang volunteered with a confident smile.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that?"

"Hell yeah! Why not?"

"But-," Ruby whispered, as though telling a secret, "what about the cereal boxes?"

"Huh?"

"Right, moving on," Blake cut in before Pyrrha's status as a star athlete could be dredged up, "I think you should go for Jaune then, Weiss,"

"What?" Weiss demanded, taking offense, "just how pathetic do you think I am?"

Blake sighed, "Calm down, you just have to put Jaune out of the match and then help Yang deal with Pyrrha,"

Weiss had to bite back her pride with visible displeasure; it was a sensible plan.

"Okay then!" Ruby broke in again, "Then I'll take Nora!"

"Say it a little louder you dunce! I don't think they heard you!" Weiss chastised her leader like a disapproving parent, "the plan won't work if they hear it!"

"…" Ruby's face took on an 'oops' expression before staring intently at her shoes, "sorry,"

Clearing her throat, "Alright then, I guess I've got Ren. Do we all agree?"

Weiss and Ruby nodded in unison.

"Let's do this!" Yang forcefully clapped Ruby and Blake on the back as she said it, very nearly causing her three huddled teammates to collapse in a heap, the two adjacent members under the force of her enthusiasm and Weiss from the inability to extricate herself from the other two.

Mercifully, the team was able to disentangle itself without falling over, and they did so just in time for Team JNPR to come over, Nora bouncing along in the lead, "Hey again everybody!" she intoned in a singsong voice, "You ready?"

"Yep!" Ruby responded energetically, "You guys?"

Pyrrha nodded with her usual pleasant smile and offered a hand to shake, "Good luck out there,"

Yang vigorously accepted the handshake with a meaningful grin, "You too,"

"Schi-Nee cola?" Jaune offered, arriving last and struggling to keep a hold of an armload of clinking cans, "I figured we could all use a drink after the first exercise so I figured… well… There's a vending machine over there so…"

"Yeah sure, I'll have one," Yang grabbed a can and opened it, taking swig, "thanks Jaune; kinda makes me feel sorry for what's about to go down,"

As Nora snatched a can with a look of glee on her face as she shook it with such violence that it exploded when she then attempted to open it, the others likewise indulged in June's offer of fizzy beverages, albeit without undue agitation. Weiss stood aloof from the others, mentally preparing herself for the fight to come; perhaps working as a team like they had during initiation would-

"Hey Snow Angel,"

Weiss cringed at the sound of her least favorite of her nicknames. _Let's see, there's Princess, Snow Angel, spoiled child, rich bit-_

"Uh... Weiss?"

"What?" She demanded, visibly flustered.

Jaune flinched, "Please don't hurt me! I just wanted to offer you a soda-,"

"No thank you," she answered curtly, not letting him finish, "I don't care for Schi-Nee cola,"

"Huh?" Jaune queried dimly, "but doesn't your family make this stuff?"

"What of it?" she snapped, "that stuff's nothing but sugar anyway,"

"Well, yeah, but-,"

Yang muscled into the awkward dialogue, taking the extra can from Jaune and forcefully pushed it into Weiss's hands, "Just take it Princess," she insisted, "he was nice enough to buy it for you so you could at least be appreciative,"

_Everything you have, you have because you are my daughter and the heir to the Schnee name, young lady, _he would always say, voice cold and eyes like ice,_ Be appreciative of that fact; I expect you to live up to the family name. _

Weiss swallowed, mumbling, "Yes father,"

"What?"

"Nothing!" Weiss denied, lifting the can to her lips and tilting it back, hoping that the spectacle of Weiss Schnee drinking a canned soda would be sufficient to distract Jane and Yang.

"Uh Weiss… you might want to _open _the can…"

**Author's Note: Okay, so this one was admittedly a bit more of a fluff chapter than the other two, but fear not, I'll have that RWBY / JNPR brawl out next time, Probably around Wednesday or Thursday (largely because I have classes and such). Please let me know what you thought, thanks!. **


	4. Falling Short

**Author's Note: Okay here's that brawl I promised; I actually finished a lot sooner than I thought I would (probably owing something to the time that I probably should have spent studying) and it's considerably longer than the previous ones. Whether or not future chapters will be as long is kind of up in the air at the moment. Enjoy, and please, let me know what you think; I'd love to improve. **

_This is it; remember the plan Weiss…_

Teams RWBY and JNPR stood arrayed at opposite ends of the training field, Professor Goodwitch midway between them on the sideline to observe, holding the whistle to her lips. The tension was palpable; try as she might to hold Myrtenaster level, there was no denying that her heart was racing in anticipation of the impending conflagration.

_Am I the only one this nervous? _Weiss asked herself as she surveyed the faces of team JNPR, all of whom, to include Jaune perplexingly enough, wore expressions depicting eagerness and determination in varying balances. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Yang, standing opposite Pyrrha, holding a bouncy pugilist stance with her Ember Celica fully deployed. Beyond that, all she could see of Ruby and Blake was that they too had weapons drawn, Ruby's cloak flapping at her sides in the breeze.

_Get a grip Weiss! _She chided herself as Goodwitch inhaled, _It's simple; take out tall blonde and scraggly, then move on to Pyrrha, _she swallowed at the prospect of facing off with the four-time Mystral Cup champion. And then the whistle blew, the shrill blast rang out, piercing Weiss's nervous contemplation.

* * *

At the sound of the whistle, Ruby aimed Crescent Rose backward and fired it, rocketing herself forward into the fray. Fast as she was though, Ruby could've sworn that she'd seen Blake appear next to her momentarily and then vanish forwards at a baffling speed to engage Ren with a rapid flurry of blows. As Ruby admired the speed with which Blake and Ren exchanged attacks however, she was blind to the giggling pink blur with the giant hammer. Her priorities were straightened rather concussively however, as Magnhild slammed into her side, sending her to the ground twenty feet away in a tumble of red cloth.

_Right then, _Ruby thought to herself, immensely grateful for the protection of her aura as she struggled awkwardly to her feet and trying not to step on her cloak, _time for sweetheart to strut her stuff. _

She took a fighting stance holding the blade of Crescent Rose ready on her left, bracing for Nora's next attack.

Nora, it seemed, hadn't been in on the plan though, as, rather than oblige a now much better prepared Ruby, she instead skipped merrily to Ren's aid.

"Huh?" Blake's plan seemed to have kinda fallen at the first hurdle… Although, as the one who'd knocked it down… well… glass houses…

Seeking to make up for her error, Ruby darted after Nora like a wolf after an oblivious rabbit. A paradoxical surge of relief washed over her as she cut Nora off a scant few meters from Blake and Ren's dizzying exchange of blows, parries, and countermoves and she saw Nora's hammer hurtling down at her from on high. It was only then that a healthy dose of survival instinct took over and deflected the oncoming blow by spinning her weapon, catching the handle of Nora's hammer, sweeping the head aside to strike the ground with a percussive boom. Instinctively Ruby then withdrew the Crescent Rose, weaving the shaft between her arms and back, proceeding to initiate full-body spinning attack.

As she began the attack though, she quickly became aware of an anomalous lack of impact after her first few revolutions. When next she faced where Nora had been standing, she saw why: Nora was no longer standing there, but rather, she was balanced upside-down on the shaft of her hammer, and giggled with a little salute much as Ruby herself often did, but by the time she processed this fact she was already facing the other direction again and forcefully knocked off balance by an explosion from the head of Magnhild which launched its wielder skyward with an enthusiastic "YEEEEHAAA!"

Stabilizing herself and turning on her heels, Ruby raised the Crescent Ross and began firing skyward, attempting to hit the bubbly airborne girl who was simultaneously firing heart-stamped explosive shells wildly all over the place. The first stuck the ground beside Blake, sending her reeling and leaving her wide open and the next slamming squarely between Yang and Pyrrha, interrupting what might have been a decisive blow on Yang's part. The final shot that Nora got off rocketed straight for Ruby, who dove forward to escape the raining fire, having failed to score a hit.

Having slowed her fall with the recoil from her airborne sortie, Nora landed, clumsily toppling over, but unharmed. Unruffled though, she was back on her feet once more extending Magnhild's grip in an instant, ready for Ruby, who was rocketing in her direction at that very moment. Nora met Ruby's attempted overhead stroke by catching the Crescent Rose's shaft with Magnhild's and, sparing a glance to look over to the right in time to cheer Ren on as he sent Blake flying with a palm strike charged with his aura. Ruby couldn't help getting distracted, gaping in disbelief as Blake skidded to a halt in the grass some distance away.

"Miss Belladonna, your aura has dipped into the red; you are out of this match," Professor Goodwitch announced, officially freeing Ren's attention for another target.

_Uh-oh…_

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Ruby felt herself lurching forward, owing to Nora's having collapsed her weapon again and leveling the stout barrel at the startled Scythe-wielder scarcely a meter away. Ruby's deer-in-the-headlights expression met with the older (but perhaps no more mature) girl's broad ear to ear smile and one free hand waving an enthusiastic goodbye as the trigger was pulled and the both of them were swallowed by an explosion of pink.

Coughing a few times and heaving a few deep breaths after finding herself plastered to the ground in a dizzy haze, Ruby shook her head a few times in hopes of getting her vision back into focus, she became dimly aware that Nora was similarly plopped on her rear opposite her, hair and face liberally blackened. Nora seemed more resilient though, resuming her friendly little grin and wave heedless of her blackened face.

Ruby just stared, dumbfounded, _How does she stay so chipper? I mean… we just exploded! _

"Miss Rose, Miss Valkyrie, you two are out of the match!"

_~ Ninety Seconds Earlier~_

Frustration building and golden sparks scattering with each successive impact, Yang rained blows furiously on Pyrrha, only to have each and every one of them thwarted by that shield of hers. Neither her fists nor the shells erupting from above her knuckles could persuade the golden disk to move, and the worst part was, Pyrrha wasn't even paying full attention! From what little Yang managed to catch of Pyrrha's face over _that damned shield, _its bearer was frequently glancing off to her right to see how Jaune was doing. Yang wasn't sure what pissed her off more, the fact that Pyrrha didn't consider the threat to her own person represented by Yang to necessitate her fullest attention, or that even with split focus the redhead was wasn't missing a beat.

_Dammit! _Yang fumed, _if I could just-_

There came the sound of a weapon discharging from Pyrrha's side of the shield for once, but no projectile was forthcoming, not in Yan's direction anyway. Instead, Yang was surprised to find Pyrrha pulling back, causing her next blow not to connect, and in a sudden rush of red hair and amber metal, Pyrrha surged forward, striking Yang hard in the stomach with the edge of her shield. Yang's breath deserted her with such force that it was all she could not to collapse as she reeled backward, giving Pyrrha an opening call back Milo back to her extended hand, having served its purpose by interrupting Weiss's attempted attack on Jaune, who was in turn currently hacking at the ice that froze him to the spot, a menace only to himself. In that moment the whole fight was knocked on its head and Pyrrha seized the initiative. Yang was forced to swallow huge gulps of air on the fly as she scrambled to dodge and block Pyrrha's spear thrusts by turns. Even when she got the chance to hazard a counter-stroke, Pyrrha withdrew behind Akouo, converting her weapon to its rifle form in an instant and opening up with a salvo of fire in place of jabs from cover.

_Dammit Dammit DAMMIT! This is not good; she's always so nice and well, calm in class… It's like she's a whole different person…_

Yang changed up her approach, trying instead to take hold of Pyrrha's shield with both hands and wrench it away, and was rewarded with a nasty right jab to the ribs for her trouble.

_No dice eh? FINE THEN! THE GLOVES ARE OFF!... Well actually- Dammit, never mind!_

Pivoting into a right turn on her left foot, Yang grabbed Pyrrha's spear from where it protruded over her shield in both hands. Dropping to a knee as she did so, Yang heaved Pyrrha over her shoulder. She'd only meant to disarm Pyrrha, but she'd stubbornly held her grip on Milo and gotten thrown for her efforts. Standing again, Yang shook the soreness out of her arms; Pyrrha didn't look it, but she was built like a _tank_ and throwing her had been a greater exertion that Yang would've expected; she didn't take long though, and before Pyrrha had the chance to get her footing back Yang charged full tilt.

"I HOPE YOU'R READY FOR-,"

In that instant, everything went to hell. Again. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, no matter how fasts she thought she was running. Streaking down from on high, a small canister with little pink heart stamped on the side, trailing pink Dust no less, came between the charging blonde and the bracing redhead. Recognition dawned on Yang in an instant and she broke off her sprinting dash, but she might've more easily halted a freight train. Nora's wild shot struck earth closer to Pyrrha, but she deflected most of the blast with her shield, and the wave of concussive force therefore served to assist Yang's rapid halt.

Her arms going like pinwheels for balance, Yang was again frustrated to see that Pyrrha had judged herself free to turn and check on Jaune _again. _ She got off a few shots in Weiss's direction before Yang was on a stable footing again, but knew better than to persist in ignoring Yang for long and was once more positioned to absorb the blonde's next blow with her shield, but Yang didn't get the chance make good the adrenaline-fueled blow. A hailstorm of small, stinging impacts worked their way up the boxer's back, and turning as she just barely dodged Pyrrha's own thrust from the front, she saw Ren running at her.

_Oh crap, oh crap OH CRAP! _Yang thought as she frantically discharged shell after shell in Ren's direction while simultaneously trying to move wide of Pyrrha, totally oblivious to the whistle blasts, so single-minded had been her focus, _I guess that means that Blake-_

"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed, a note of panic coloring her voice.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Yang did a double-take as tall blonde and scraggly himself rocketed headlong through the air, culminating in a train wreck of a collision with Ren leaving both of them sprawled on the ground.

"I'm okay!" Jaune called out weakly.

"Lie Ren," It was Goodwitch, "You're out of this match!"

Shaking her head and returning to the take at hand, Yang turned back to face Pyrrha and-, "What the-!"

Pyrrha had thrown her shield like a Frisbee, taking Yang full force in the stomach _again, _this time knocking her flat on her back.

"Miss Xiao Long," Came Goodwitch's voice again, a real buzzkill now that she thought about it, "That's all for you too, come on off of the field,"

_Well, guess that's that, _she sat up, cupping her hands around her mouth and shouting, "Hey Princess! It's up to you!"

~ Approximately 120 Seconds Earlier ~

The whistle rang out.

_Remember the plan Weiss; take Jaune down and move on to Pyrrha. You don't need to be at a hundred percent to take Jaune. _

A blue-white glyph flickered to life under her feet, and in an instant the world blurred around her and she was surging towards the hapless leader of Team Juniper. Realizing his peril, Jaune's eyes widened in his own expression of uniquely inept panic as he fumbled with his shield, trying to make it deploy.

_I've got him! _Weiss allowed herself a little grin, but then a walloping impact from the right, sending her off trajectory as she turned, still sliding smoothly over the grass , to see who was responsible.

_Pyrrha! _Weiss cringed, _It would be her, but where's…?_

No, it was evident that Yang had not dropped the ball here, though it may have been appropriate to suggest that perhaps the ball had been too large a burden for her to assume alone in the first place; with Akouo in one arm to block Yang's fists and even the occasional kick, Pyrrha Nikos simultaneously managed to aim Milo, in rifle mode, in Weiss's general direction. Mercifully, the Mystral Cup champion's aim wasn't particularly accurate, attention ton as it was in two opposing directions. To catch the odd few rounds that actually came her way after that first one Weiss cast a vertical glyph as a shield and held it until Yang managed a glancing blow and Pyrrha could no longer split her focus.

Letting out a little sigh of relief, Weiss once more assumed a fencing stance, ready to thrust, and propelled herself at the lanky boy anew. To her frustration though, Jaune managed to finally deploy his shield in time to catch Myrtenaster and deflect it off to the right side. Undeterred, Weiss improvised a pirouette and slashed at her opponent's shins. Jaune stumbled, and continuing the dance-like rotation, Weiss struck him again, just below the wrist of his sword arm, causing him to drop his weapon.

_I won't even need to-_

Before the Heiress could finish that simultaneously relieved and self-satisfied thought though, her footing was abruptly taken out from under her in a rush of gold and pain, the latter muted thankfully, by her Aura. Wincing, Weiss rolled out of the way before Jaune could make even a feeble attempt to exploit the opportunity, as he was still collecting his sword. Dusting herself off exasperatedly as she stood, Weiss watched as Pyrrha pulled Akouo back with her personal magnetism, all the while dodging and repelling Yang by turns with Milo, now in sword form.

_I can't believe it! She's fighting BOTH of us! _

Yang seemed to be turning up the heat now though, actual flames beginning erupt here and there now, but Weiss nonetheless made a mental note not to allow Pyrrha to get the drop on her again like that.

Teeth clenched, Weiss turned Myrtenaster's chamber to the red setting, _Perhaps I should follow Yang's example…_

Weiss launched a series of Dust-fueled fireballs at Jaune, who was not nearly so ready to respond to them as Ruby had been. Though the first one met with his shield, more by dumb luck than anything else, the second exploded at his feet, and by the third, he simply hit the deck, not having a plan.

_I can do this, _Weiss allowed herself a slightly broader grin now, _I suppose he's a nice guy, if also a bit dim, but still... Love and war… _

With that, Weiss shifted Myrtenaster to the blue setting drove it downward, sending a river of ice forward in Jaune's direction, _If it worked on that insufferable little red dunce, than this dolt hasn't got a prayer. _

As planned, Jaune, now back on his feet, was frozen about the ankles and fixed to the ground on which he stood. Pulling Myrtenaster back up from the ground, Weiss positioned herself for another stroke and launched herself forward, skating inches above the field supported on her glyph as she hurtled at the helpless dolt from behind as he ineffectually chipped at the ice in a panicked frenzy. Finally Weiss managed a direct hit, Myrtenaster striking Jaune like a lance as she dashed by.

Jaune grunted as the breath vacated his lungs and the force of the blow doubled him over; it was only by his sword, now plunged into the frosted ground that he remained standing. The force of Weiss's blow had dislodged one of his feet from the ice, but Jaune was still rooted down by the other. As Weiss's velocity ebbed away and she drifted to a halt she turned one foot, positioning for another attack, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that, once again, Pyrrha didn't appear totally focused one the storm of fists and shells that Yang delivered upon her shield. Weiss's eyes widened as they met Pyrrha's determined green ones, but then she steeled herself.

"Not this time!" Weiss shouted her defiance as she materialized a defensive glyph just in time for Pyrrha's javelin to bounce off in a shower of blue sparks just an arm's reach away.

Unfortunately, Jaune had freed himself in that time and was clumsily attempting a fighting stance despite the unwieldy chunks of ice still clinging to his ankles. Her triumphant determination turning to an annoyed grimace as she turned her attention back to Jaune. Rushing forward Weiss closed the distance faster than Jaune was prepared for and parried Jaune's attempt to strike first , counting with a slash and a thrust of her own before repelling once more out of reach.

_How much can he take?_

Feeling the strain beginning to set in, compounded by the lack of apparent progress, though her morale received a boost when she say Yang pitch Pyrrha over her shoulder, _Right, time to pull my weight. _

This time though, she dismissed the glyph she'd been gliding on and took a defensive stance. Jaune interpreted this as an opening and started barreling her way. _Just as planned…_

She stepped to the left and parried his attack, positioning herself beside him and then pivoted so as to jab him once, twice, three times in the back .

Then Goodwitch's voice sounded, giving Weiss a renewed spark of enthusiasm, only to have it dashed with the words, "Miss Belladonna," after which she tuned it out with a cringe; _Ren must have gotten the better of her-. _

Then it got worse as Goodwitch called out Ruby's name, though thankfully Nora's name was right behind, _That makes three on two-, not god, not good!_

As Ren shifted his focus and opened up on Yang as he came at her Weiss panicked, conjuring a glyph that darkened as a startled Jaune was magnetized to its vertical surface, and then shifted the glowing disc in Ren's direction with a likewise move of Myrtenaster and her free hand.

"Oh God!" Jaune whimpered, just in time to be blasted away by the rapidly brightening circle so as to act as a human projectile.

Weiss couldn't help but wince as Jaune careened into Ren with such violence that both were left flattened on the ground when the tumbling had ceased, though relief swiftly overtook remorse as Professor Goodwitch called out, "Lie Ren, you are out of this match!" Then frustration surged back when Jaune's name was not also forthcoming.

_Seriously?_

Her annoyance was short-lived as well, however, as she blanched to a special shade of pale when Yang was knocked down and out.

"Hey Princess!" Yang called out after being disqualified, "It's up to you!"

Weiss made a pathetic attempt to repress the horrified expression on her face as Pyrrha turned to face her now, _How did this happen? This wasn't the plan!_

But as Pyrrha began to run her way, Weiss planted her feet firmly braced for action, _This is just another challenge Weiss, _she gritted her teeth, _an obstacle to overcome; it doesn't matter that this is Pyrrha Nikos, what does Pumpkin Pete know anyway? _

Weiss stood her ground until Pyrrha was less than three meters away. Weiss then dove forward and to the right, rolling under Pyrrha's sword arm and elicited a half an instant's pause for Weiss to stand behind JNPR's Star athlete and launch a thrust. Pyrrha batted Myrtenaster aside as she turned back to face Weiss and swung her shield as a bludgeon. Weiss only just barely managed to backpedal far enough so that the golden rim of the shield only displaced her bangs.

"Woooooo! You can do it Weiss!" Ruby cheered from the sidelines, apparently blind to the severity of Weiss's predicament, "Winn this for Team RWBY!"

Weiss tried to block a sword stroke from Pyrrha, but hadn't anywhere near the necessary muscle, and so was forced to back-pedal once more.

_I have no patience for failure, _He was always so stern, judgmental expression etched in granite, _Set aside your weakness Weiss; flinch and they'll devour you._

Weiss lunged forward again to Pyrrha's surprise, driving first at her foot and then her torso faster than the redhead could react to the unpredictable move.

_Ruthlessness Weiss; that is the key to success, and success is what a Schnee does best._

Weiss briefly called up a glyph at her feet once more to drift wide around Pyrrha's counterattack, pirouetting as she skated around her opponent, striking her several times in the front and sides.

_Then I'll be the best at everything! _A wide-eye Weiss Schnee had happily pledged at seven years old; _I'll be a good girl and do my best!_

As Pyrrha wheeled around again, Weiss discharged the last of her fire dust in a desperate bid to hold off Pyrrha for a precious few more seconds. I worked. As Pyrrha stumbled, Weiss darted forward again, leading off with a thrust to her opponent's torso and following up with a swift uppercut.

_I have her! I can't believe it! I have her on-_

"I'M COMING PYRRHA!" Jaune came charging back afresh.

_I'll listen to my tutors, and I'll sing real pretty, and I'll practice really really hard! I promise!_

_Dammit, no, no, NO! _Weiss screamed inside her own head, _I can't handle this!_

Forced to turn and parry Jaune, Weiss was left exposed from behind as Pyrrha recovered. Weiss squeezed her eyes shut and fell to her knees as she desperately held her right hand up to Pyrrha, summoning a glyph to defend herself from the downward driving spear-thrust, shattering the defense.

_Just see that you do not disappoint me._

The whistle rang out once more, ending the match, "That's enough! Miss Schnee-,"

Weiss's hands fell to the earth, clenching shaking fistfuls of grass.

"-Your aura is exhausted; Team JNPR wins!" Goodwitch finished, cancelling the display on her scroll, "Well fought,"

_If you're not a winner, then you're a loser; never forget that._

Pyrrha slung her shield and weapon on her back and extended a hand to Weiss, "It was a good match; you should be proud,"

_Failure is a disgrace._

The Schnee heiress stood without taking her victorious opponent's hand, swallowing as she struggled to keep her voice level, forcing a smile, "You too,"

"That… was… AWESOME!" Nora exclaimed, bouncing a mile a minute as she rushed over and grabbing Weiss's hands in her own, face still covered in black and pink soot, "I've never hit Pyrrha _that many times_ before!"

"… Right…"

As the others converged on the last ones standing Weiss remained silent. The rest of them were eager enough to take the chance to swap pointers and observations at Professor Goodwitch's insistence, but the Schnee Heiress couldn't think, and took the earliest opportunity to fade out of the group without a farewell and headed for the dorms, fighting to keep a grip on herself. No one attempted to flag her down along the way; most all of the other students knew her frosty reputation at this point. She opened the door of team RWBY's dorm and proceeded to her desk, pulling her diary and a pen out of a drawer, unable to hold it in anymore.

_I'm sorry Daddy…_


	5. Dear Daddy

**Author's Note: Hello all, so here's chapter five; for those of you who wanted more Ruby in this RWBY story, stick around for the latter half of this chapter. I have a general idea about where I'm going with this in the immediate future, but the longer term is a bit hazy, so if anyone has ideas that they're willing to share, I'd love to see it in the reviews, as well as any critiques that you may have. Enjoy!**

_The Princess picked a hell of a time to just vanish, _Yang fumed, _If I don't catch up with the other fast then Blake will order anchovies on all the pizzas!_

There hadn't been a bet beforehand, but everyone was hungry after the mutual thrashing session, and disappointed though she was, Ruby thought that her team should be graceful losers and thus treat the lot of them to pizza.

_That reminds me…_Yang thought further, _she's filthy rich…. _"She is soooo picking up the tab…"

Yang had volunteered to go get Weiss, Ruby having gotten caught up with Nora loudly reenacting their favorite moments from the fight through a mixture of spastic gestures and verbal sound effects, and Blake had once more buried face in her book again immediately following her knock-out. Thus, Yang Xiao Long found herself briskly jogging to go check Team RWBY's dorm for Weiss, and so upon arrival, she threw the door open impatiently without bothering to announce herself Yang burst into the room

"Hey Princess! We're going for pizza!"

Weiss dropped her pen, catching her breath in surprise before wiping her eyes with her sleeve and composing herself, "Thank you, but I'm not going,"

Yang looked over to her left, the direction from which Weiss's voice had come, "Wha-,"

"_I said no, thank you," _Weiss insisted, a tone of hostility coloring her voice for an instant, but it faded just as quickly back to despondency, "Now please, just… just leave me alone…"

It was only now that Yang's eyes narrowed and she appeared to take notice of the fact that the lights were all of; the only light in the room coming in through gap in the drapes, "…Princess…"

"I'm sure that I'm not needed for your party Yang," Weiss stared down at her desk again, closing the little red book with a blank cover.

"Come on!" Yang rolled her eyes, "you can't seriously be that broken up about losing-,"

"Yang I failed," Weiss cut her off, "that's what it boils down to,"

"You _failed_?" Yang guffawed, "It was friggen practice match! Don't take it so seriously!"

Weiss shot up from her chair, "Don't take it seriously? What we'd been up against a pack of Grimm, or the White Fang? What then? Goodwitch won't always be there to call the match!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Yang demanded, getting angry now, "Our friends aren't Grimms, Weiss! Don't be such a damned poor sport!"

Weiss could feel her face reddening with indignation even as could no longer hold back all the tears, "Shut up-!"

"So you lost a match to _Pyrrha Nikos_! Big whoop! So did I!" Yang pressed, "So did I-, Hell, she took both of us _at once_! Get over yourself!"

"I couldn't even beat _Jaune_!" Weiss shouted back, the first of the frustrated, self-disappointed tears rolling down her cheek despite her best effort to choke them back, "There is _no excuse for that kind of failure! _It's a disgrace! I-, I am a disgrace!"

Yang's eyes went red, and with one hand she grabbed Weiss by the lapel in one hand and Weiss's makeup kit from the desk with the other, "Get the hell over yourself you stuck up little bitch! I am so sick of your crappy attitude! I thought you'd grow up a little after that spat with Ruby, but no! I bit my tongue when you and Blake had your fight, and hell, I even thought you'd learned something when that blew over, but you're still as _fucking self-centered as EVER!_ I hate to break it to you Princess, but you can't just live with your own _perfect little reflection!_"

At the sight of her own bloodshot sapphire eyes Weiss winced and slapped the pocket sized mirror out of the angry blonde's hand, "My own reflection? I _hate_ mirrors! All I ever see is how I've never been good enough!"

Yang laughed bitterly, reaching down onto the desk for the little red book with her recently vacated hand, "Not good enough? That's some ego! I suppose you think that you should have been able to win the match all by yourself? Is that what you scribbled about in here before I showed up? No wait-, don't tell me-, I bet it's about how much you hate Pyrrha?"

Weiss's eyes widened and she blanched, reaching for the little red book in panicked futility as Yang held her at an arm's length, "No! Please Yang!" Weiss begged, debasing herself as she'd never for anyone, "Please… don't…"

Ignoring Weiss's pleas in her anger, Yang flipped the book open in one hand, a vindictive look sneer on her face, "I always wondered what it's like inside your head, Princess," she smirked, "Let's see… _Dear Daddy… _Seriously?"

Weiss's knees buckled buried her face in her hands, "Stop it…" was all she could get out past the choked sobs.

"…_Some asked me out today, but I turned him down; it's like you said daddy: study, study, study. I have the family name to think about after all…_" Yang rolled her eyes and flipped a few pages forward, "_Dear daddy, I made it through the initiation today and got assigned to a team…I wasn't good enough to be appointed leader though… I'm sorry… I'll do better next time… The girl Ozpin named leader is some sort of awkward prodigy child! She's careless and annoying, but so strong… it's, it's just not fair!_" The anger bled out of Yang's voice more and more as she continued, flipping ahead, now stopping at Weiss's last entry, "_I'm sorry Daddy, I just couldn't do it; I did my best but my best just wasn't good enough. I couldn't help it- they were just better than me- I'll improve, I promise- so please don't throw me away like Mom…?" _Yang's voice trailed off, "Oh my God… Weiss… I-,"

Weiss didn't wait for Yang's damned pity. Getting back to her feet Weiss bolted from the room, tears streaming down her face now.

~ About half an hour later ~

Ruby found her sitting alone on the roof of their dorm, leaning up against the wall to the left of the door. Her head was tipped back as though to look skyward, but her eyes were squeezed shut and her cheeks were damp and red. She'd never seen Weiss like this, it felt so… wrong. Weiss was confident, overbearing even, not some sulky misanthrope… Okay maybe she was kind of a misanthrope generally, but never sulky… It was actually kind of infuriating how Weiss never questioned herself; to see her broken up and doubting herself like this reminded Ruby so much of… herself. Ruby took a deep breath, squeezing a fistful of her cloak to work out her nervousness, _Normal knees…_

"Hey Weiss…"

The dejected girl visibly flinched, though she offered no response. Never had anyone so loathed the sound of her own name.

Ruby walked over and sat down beside her partner, "Yang told me about what happened," she hesitated, "and about your diary…"

"Great," Weiss laughed bitterly, "now the whole of Beacon gets the inside story on the _Princess's _Daddy issues,"

"I didn't read it," it was admittedly a pitiful reply, but she didn't have anything else, "and I made Yang promise not to tell anyone else,"

"It's not like it matters; she's kind of right I guess…"

"I saved you a slice of pizza," Ruby offered weakly, offering the small plate that she'd brought with her, not knowing how to otherwise proceed, "It's cheese…the last piece… nobody wanted anything to do with the anchovy pizza Blake ordered first…"

"I'm not hungry Ruby," Weiss head fell forward, "and even if I was, do you have any idea how many calories are in that one slice?"

Ruby's silver eyes lit up, "There! That's the Weiss I know! But no… I don't know how many calories that is…" Ruby found herself momentarily considering the _three _slices she'd eaten, and the fact that, until Yang had caught up with them, that she would've eaten this one too… _No Ruby! This isn't the time for that! _

"Ruby… I have a confession to make…"

Ruby's smile faded and she lowered the little Styrofoam plate, "Huh?"

"That was all a lie," Weiss continued, "all a stupid façade… I don't _deserve _better than this: I didn't _deserve _to be team leader either; I- I just needed to be the _best-,_"

"Well yeah, I want to do my best too-, we all do-,"

"No Ruby, you don't get it; I needed to _be _the best," Weiss cut her off, "but I'm not Ruby… I'm just… not good enough… Now please, I just need some time alone,"

Mulling over this revelation for a moment, Ruby set the plate down and shook her head, "Nope,"

"Excuse me?"

"Nope." Ruby repeated, wrapping her arms about her knees, "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but being alone seems like the last thing you need right now," she took a deep breath and let it out before she continued, "I'm no good at social situations or anything like this, but no matter how much people scare me, that doesn't mean that I _want _to be all alone… and as team leader-, no, as _your friend, _I owe it to you be here for you,"

Weiss opened her eyes and looked back up into the clear azure sky, "Damn it Ruby,"

Ruby's heart skipped a beat, _Oh no! Where did I screw up?_

"How do you do it?" Weiss asked, "Initiation, hunting Grimm, just being a good person-, the only things you _aren't _good at are first impressions," Weiss sighed, "Even leadership-, sure you're immature and reckless, but just like with the Nevermore, when it matters…"

"I-, I don't know what to say…"

"Then don't; I've got plenty,"


	6. Dear Daddy, Part II

**Author's note: So this chapter is a collection of flashbacks written in the name of character development; at the start of each section I'll specify how many years prior to the present-day events the current scene takes place. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think. **

**~ 12 Years ago ~**

A five year old Weiss Schnee puffed up her cheeks and pressed her lips to the little recorder that she clumsily held in both hands and gave it an earsplitting blast. Her music tutor flinched as little Weiss determinately played not after note after wretchedly off key note, stubbornly persisting despite her inability find the right notes for 'Mary Had A Little Lamb.' With each passing note little Weiss was more and more aware that she wasn't doing it right, but couldn't figure out why, and her face visibly reddened both from a lack of breath and mounting frustration, building an ever more contrast between her face and silvery hair.

"My lady…" the tutor spoke up hesitantly.

"No! I can do it!"

"My Lady, it's been months… perhaps you should consider another instrument…"

"But…" Weiss's lip quivered as she stared at the ground, arms falling to her sides despondently, "I told Daddy that I could play it…"

"How about you sing it instead dear?"

Weiss's frustration evaporated in an instant as she turned around ran to the door to give her father a hug, "Daddy!"

The tutor's face took on a relieved expression, "Yes! That's an excellent idea young Miss, you have a beautiful voice!" In his relief, however, the tutor had failed to realize that he had been utterly forgotten as his young protégé was hefted up into her father's arms.

Weiss wrapped her arms around her father's neck and squeezed with all her five-year-old might, "I missed you Daddy! Mr. Tutor won't teach me to play my recorder!"

The tutor blanched, but his concerns were laid to rest as Mr. Schnee stroked his daughter's hair and chuckled, "He can only teach you if you let him speak dear," he said, "I'm sure you're excited to figure it out, but the tutor's here to help you,"

Weiss pouted, but this too evaporated at the sight of her mother, and suddenly Weiss was squirming madly and reaching for Mommy, "Mommy! Mommy! Can you do my hair? I want a ponytail-, just like you!"

The thin, fair-haired woman reached over and took her excitable daughter from her husband's arms, "Of course dear, now say goodbye to you music tutor,"

The pout returned as the sour little girl turned back to the instructor, "Bye Mr. Tutor…" Weiss's father thanked the man for his time with a handshake before heading out of the music room again, followed by his wife and daughter. Over her mother's shoulder as they left though, Weiss stuck her tongue out at the man.

"So where would you like go for your birthday dinner Princess?" Her mother asked in a loving voice, "Daddy says we can go anywhere you want,"

Little Weiss tilted her head to the side as she thought about it… then she had it! "I want an apple!"

Mr. Schnee laughed aloud, "Of course dear, but what else? An apple is hardly a meal in itself,"

"Uhhh…" Weiss was set back to mulling over her choices as she was carried into the courtyard of Schnee castle and set down in the carriage between her parents.

"You can decide when we get into town Princess," Her mother said as she began pulling her father's hair back into the ponytail she'd requested, "for now… Dear, did you bring it?"

"Of course Weiss's father smiled, producing a light blue bag with a snowflake pattern, "Happy birthday dear,"

Weiss's bright blue eyes lit up as she took the bag and threw the tissue paper aside, pulling out the oval-shaped vanity mirror with snowflakes etched in silver all about the rim, "It's soooo pretty!"

"I thought you'd like it, but I have to admit that it was your mother's idea,"

Still holding the mirror in one hand Weiss turned to hug her mother and shout 'thank-you' over and over.

"Happy birthday Princess,"

**~ Ten Years Ago ~**

Weiss didn't like the black dress she had to wear today; it was stiff, and gloomy, and worst of all, Mommy said that she couldn't wear her favorite snowflake barrette with it! Weiss didn't complain though, because big girls were supposed to be polite, and everybody else had to where black today too. Instead, she clung timidly to mother's side as Father and Uncle stood grimly at the foot of the big polished wood box as it was lowered into the ground. Mommy had said that today was Grandfather's funeral and that ninety-five years was a long time for him to live, so they shouldn't be sad, but Weiss had never met grandpa… and now one else was crying…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming" Weiss's father began in a level tone, "The Schnee family has lost a great man with my father's passing. Still, my brother and I remain, and we will work together to live up to his legacy. Those of you who worked loyally for my father, again I thank you, and I'd ask that you continue to extend you support to my family and the company. I'm certain that we'll pull through this if we all pull together,"

Daddy seemed a little sad, but to Weiss, now seven years old, he seemed determined.

After Uncle delivered his own speech, this time with a few reminiscences and fond anecdotes, all of the people started to leave, and her uncle came over to pick Weiss up in a hug, "Good morning snowflake,"

He sounded sad to, but he was trying to keep up a strong façade. Looking over her uncle's shoulder, Weiss saw that Father still stood beside the tombstone as dirt was shoveled back into the grave.

"Uncle?"

"What is it Snowflake?"

"Is Daddy gonna be okay?"

Weiss noted out of the corner of her eye that her mother's eyes squeezed shut and she looked down.

"Your Daddy and I have just inherited a huge responsibility Weiss; the old man was strong as a mountain and half as flexible-, I guess we never expect him ever to die. We're just coming to grips with stepping into those shoes Weiss. Don't worry-, he just needs some time."

**~ Six Years Ago ~**

At eleven years old, Weiss sat doing homework at the mahogany table in the great room of the portion of Schnee castle that served as the families apartments trying not to listen the detective's voice sounded from her father's scroll.

"Mr. Schnee…"

"It was the White Fang, was it not?"

The officer was silent for a moment before confirming her father's suspicion, "Yes… We're working on bringing them in, but if they've dumped the body, we can't find it-, Perhaps if you reached out to negotiate-,"

Weiss winced as her father's fist struck the arm of his chair, "Absolutely not! I refuse to make a single concession to those _animals!_"

"Mr. Schnee… your brother's body… Some things are just more important than Dust or money-,"

Her father's voice went cold, sending a shiver down her spine as she gripped the pen in her hand so tightly that her knuckles went white, "This is not about Dust or money, detective, this is about principle. I will not be _cowed by a pack of damned animals!_"

Weiss had noticed her father having more and more conversations with this detective over the past few years. Sometimes the man came to the castle, sometimes they just talked over her father's scroll as was the case now, but the news was never good. Even if she didn't hear what the detective had to say she could tell that it was always bad news by her father's progressively more severe states of frustration after each time. It started a few months after grandfather had passed away; apparently some terrorists calling themselves 'The White Fang' saw the company's changing hands as an opportunity, and the situation had gotten steadily worse since. Father had been obliged to devote most of his time to running the company since the funeral, and even with his brother's help he could barely make time for anything else for even a single day each week and now...

Weiss's attention was wrested back to the present with the sound of her father's scroll emitted a neutral tone as it shut off and company chairman Schnee sighed in exasperation before turning to face his daughter, "Set aside your weakness Weiss; flinch and they'll devour you,"

Weiss nodded silently, not knowing whether her father was trying to impart some wisdom or reassure himself that he was doing the right thing. It was a well-worn line by now, the first time had been when just a few months after Grandfather's death after a stressful day dealing with a small army of reporters wanting to know if he would take the company in a new direction in the light of increased White Fang activity. He'd gotten increasingly cynical since assuming leadership of the company, but he'd always found time to send his younger brother home with a teddy bear for Weiss, or come home himself with a bouquet for his wife from time to time. Now though, Weiss didn't know what would come next; the world just seemed a little more empty knowing her uncle was no longer in it, but she didn't cry. A Schnee wasn't supposed to cry.

Her father sighed again, "Weiss, promise me something,"

"Yes Father?" Weiss set her pen down-; she hadn't really been using it for the past ten minutes anyway.

"Don't rely on people dear; even if they are totally genuine, you'll be better off to assume all of the responsibilities yourself from the start; it will be easier when you lose people that way and…"

"Daddy…?"

"Dear?"

Father and daughter turned to see Mrs. Schnee in the threshold of the room, "Mom! You're home!" Weiss stood and moved to give her mother a hug, the tears she'd been struggling to suppress beginning to get the better of her.

Her mother looked confused, "Weiss… What's wrong?" then a look of realization dawned on her as she looked to her husband.

"My brother…"

Weiss's mother's eyes widened and she dropped to her knees to wrap her arms around Weiss, "Oh my God…"

**~ Three years Ago ~**

Weiss's hair hung loose about her shoulders as she leaned over her desk on both her hands, staring into the broken eyes that stared back at her in her mirror. Why on her birthday of all days? Why? She screamed at her reflection as she struck the glass, cracking the mirror in a dozen places. How could she? Sure, Father was almost never around, but he worked so hard, and this was how the _bitch _repaid him? And to top it all off? It was with that _damned detective!_

"I suppose we should be _grateful _that she came out and told us herself!" Weiss spat the words, "I suppose it would've been worse it Father had found out himself!" she swept the damaged mirror off of her desk to shatter on the floor, "And she thought I'd take her side?"

Weiss fell to her knees and slumped over her desk, sobbing. _Mommy… how could you? I… I… want Daddy BACK! I don't want some greasy jerk!_

She remembered the frozen loathing in her father's cold blue eyes as her mother had confessed, and the icy fingers that closed around her heart and squeezed while she sat still as stone. This was her _mother-_, they were a family-, they were supposed to support each other no matter what.

"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind," Her mother had concluded, not looking up from her knees.

"Get out," Was all Her father could muster in response, eyes brimming with barely contained wrath.

Her mother looked up at Weiss ignoring the head of the family, "Princess-?"

"How dare you?" Weiss gave voice to the betrayal she was feeling, "Didn't you hear what Father just said?" tears had begun to stream down her face as she turned away, "Just… just go!"

"I'm sorry," was the last thing her mother had said before standing and walking out of their lives.

_What a joke! _Weiss fumed as she hunched over her desk, _And the punch line? I completely understand why she did it!_

Father had just sat there in angry silence for a long time after Mother had left. No fit of rage. No tears. Nothing. He had come home hundreds of times in passionate rage about protests and even _accounting errors! _Yet not his wife, _her mother-, _was walking out on them, he couldn't conjure an ounce of passion beyond the visible disdain available to all who fell short of his expectations.

"Daddy… What happened to you? What happened to _us?_" She asked the empty air, eyes cracking open again and staring off into space as she slowly regained control of her breathing. She had no tears left.

Composing herself, Weiss got back to her feet, picking up from her desk and drawing her new sword, Myrtenaster, which she'd received for her fencing and Dust studies. For an instant, and it was only and instant, she contemplated the weapon's killing edge.

_No, _Weiss slid the weapon back into its sheath and hung it at her hip, _Not today._

**~ One Year Ago ~**

_This is different, _Weiss told herself, _I'm going to make something of myself; I'm not leaving him like she did…_

As she raised her hands to do up her hair in her usual ponytail, wincing as her fingers ran over the scar over her eye. It was still relatively new-, she'd gotten it while demonstrating her swordsmanship and Dustcraft skills. She had defeated the colossal automaton, but she had not done so unscathed, and Father had not been so impressed as she'd hoped.

"So there remains room for improvement," He'd said dispassionately, "but it is clear to me that this fool can teach you nothing more," He turned his attention to the surprised tutor, "Get out,"

The same words he'd used to cast Mother out…

Weiss swallowed, coming back to reality and putting up her hair. She didn't use a mirror; she hadn't since Mother left, not for this. She'd use the little one in her makeup kit to apply her makeup, but never for her hair. As she centered the ponytail though, she paused, then shook her head, _This is too much like her… _

She set the ponytail off to the side, _Better. _

"Well Beacon," She sighed, "Here I come,"

**~ Present ~**

"All he cares about now is the Schnee family name," Weiss shrugged, "and it only got worse after Mom left." Weiss took a deep breath and let it out again, "I didn't come here to be a huntress Ruby," Weiss concluded, staring off into the clear blue sky, "I came here to make something of myself-, to show my father that I can commit-, that I can be relied upon. That I'm not just going to rely on the family name my whole life, but that I'll be _useful._"

Ruby blinked a few times, "I still don't know what to say… Weiss…"

"No." Weiss abruptly cut in again, leaning her head back against the wall, "No, that's all a stupid rationalization… I left home hoping he'd miss me… God, I'm pathetic-, I told myself that it was different when I left, but that isn't true," Her head fell forward again as she got choked up, "_I left him just like she left us!_"

"No!" Ruby blurted, "You're not…" she trailed off, not that she didn't believe what she'd been about to say, but she didn't want to overstep into such sensitive territory, so instead she just reached over and offered a hug, "Weiss… I don't think you did anything wrong… You just want your family back… I don't know what I'd do without Yang, but look at you! All alone…"

"Ruby-,"

"Your father's wrong though-, you don't have to do everything all alone, that's what you have us for! Your team! I mean… If you'll let us…"

"Ruby-,"

"We're here for you Weiss-, all of us-,"

"Ruby!"

"Yes Weiss?"

"Just shut up you dunce!" Weiss was tearing up again, and a startled Ruby was crushed in a surprisingly tight hug in return.

**Author's Note: Okay, so this one wasn't quite so lengthy as chapter 4, but it was kind of heavy... I promise not to be so depressing in future, that is, unless you want me to be, in wich case I'd love to hear from you in reviews or messaging. Either wayI hope you enjoyed it, because there will be more chapters; this thing's turning out considerably longer than I originally planned. **


	7. Admitting Fault

Yang drew another shallow breath through clenched teeth as she hammered her fist into the punching bag.

_Damn it Yang!_

Two left jabs and a right hook.

_Why does this piss you off so much?_

A roundhouse kick.

_The damn Princess was just being a sore loser-, but…_

The threw all her uncertain rage into a final hit, nearly knocking the bag off of the hook before stepping back to catch her breath.

…_But I guess I know why now… Hell, it kinda explains a lot…. _

"Damn it Yang!" she hit the punching bag again, "Why'd you have to read her friggen diary, "Then you could just be mad at her!" Letting out a heavy sigh and taking the punching bag in both hands leaning forward, pressing her forehead into the piece of gym equipment, "The damn Princess takes herself too seriously, but then… I guess I don't have the moral high ground here…"

Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw Pyrrha walk in, a copper-red towel slung over her shoulder as she made for a bench press, Jaune close behind, _Pffft. Like he can spot worth a damn… _Yang shook her head, _No Yang. They didn't do anything to piss you off-, no, that was you and the Princess. _

But then Yang had an idea, "Hey Pyrrha!"

The redhead heard her name called and turned to acknowledge Yang, "Oh, hello Yang. We appreciated the pizza party – I hope there aren't any hard feelings…"

"I could've done without the anchovies…" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha shot him a dirty look.

"Na, no hard feelings," Yang shrugged, _not for you guys anyway, _Yang jerked a thumb over at one of the nearest boxing ring to the right of the row of punching bags, "Wanna go a round?"

Pyrrha furrowed her brow, but then shrugged, passing her towel to Jaune and answering in a pleasant tone, "Sure,"

"Uh… I'm not sure this is a good idea…" Jaune piped up hesitantly, only to be resoundingly ignored as numerous other gym-goers set aside their weights, got up from their machines and circling around the ring as Yang and Pyrrha got into the ring.

"So…" Yang began, unfazed by their audience, "You any good in a punch-up?"

Pyrrha shrugged again, "You'll have to tell me; I don't usually do this,"

"Fair enough," Yang allowed, rolling her shoulders back a few times to work some of the soreness out from her episode with the punching bag and the match a few hours earlier, "It doesn't just have to be boxing though-, I'm just looking to blow off some steam,"

Pyrrha nodded, "Let's do it,"

As Pyrrha took a wide fighting stance Yang had an absurd thought, _What the hell am I doing? She just handed me my ass a few hours ago…_

Yang dismissed this notion as she took her own stance though, "Just blowing off steam," she muttered to herself before springing into action.

Pyrrha blocked Yang's first jab with a raised arm, following up with jab of her own. Yang instinctively sprang back on the balls of her feet pulling just out of Pyrrha's reach.

"So you do know some moves,"

"A few," Pyrrha admitted, blocking another two jabs and a right hook, "but they're mostly defensive ones,"

Yang threw two more jabs and an uppercut, and asked, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Pyrrha deflected the first few blows and pivoted back on one foot to avoid the third, throwing a single punch of her own, "Go ahead,"

Yang was dimly aware that, outside the ring bets were being taken by some of their more enterprising peers, but ignored them; obviously word hadn't gotten out about the practice match yet, "What did you thing of Weiss at the practice match earlier?" She threw another punch and then a knee, just to mix things up.

Pyrrha was momentarily surprised by Yang's kneeing attack, but thereafter was more aware, "Weiss? I'd say she did well. Why do you-," she did a pivoting step forward, positioning her right foot between Yang's two feet and hitting the blonde with simultaneous plows, one to the chest and another just missing the solar-plexus, "Why do you ask?"

Yang cringed as she regained her balance, _Defensive moves my ass! It's on-! Wait a minute that wasn't the point here… _"Eh," Yang shrugged, "She took Ren off my back before you knocked me on my ass-," She launched a half-dozen more punches with speed that impressed even herself, and a few of them actually _connected _this time, "And I can't say I was expecting her to last longer than me, you know?"

"Hmmm…" Pyrrha threw another few punches of her own before she continued, "She seemed distracted at the end of it though,"

"Yeah…"

"Do you mind if I ask you a question Yang?"

The blonde's thoughts were yanked back into focus, as she had to block a few more of Pyrrha's punches, "Sure. Shoot,"

"What happened?"

Yang was taken aback and set off guard long enough for Pyrrha to make another jab at her solar-plexus, getting it right this time, "Gah! Dammit!" Taking a second to recover her stance and recovering he breath, Yang nervously asked, "What do you mean?"

"I can tell you're not really into this," Pyrrha clarified, relaxing her stance, "If you were fighting half as well as you did earlier, I'd be down by now,"

That just pissed her off.

Grunting with exertion and sudden indignation Yang stepped forward attempted to take Pyrrha full in the side with a roundhouse kick. Faster than Yang could have believed, Pyrrha resumed her stance and lunged forward, interrupting the kick and taking hold about Yang's shin and heaving her leg upward. Yang's arms worked like spastic pinwheels to restore balance, but Pyrrha had set her much too far off balance to recover. Yang was unceremoniously thrown to the floor on her back, and somebody just lost twenty lien.

Yang winced, _Ya know, maybe I was too hard on the Princess… I can see how this losing thing really sucks…_

"See what I mean?" Pyrrha extended a hand to help Yang up as the audience, save Jaune, cleared out, "Your heart wasn't in it; whatever it is that's bothering you, you should take care of it. You'll be on the same team for four years Yang; its best to hammer these things out sooner rather than later. I don't know what you and Weiss are fighting about, but it can't be so-,"

"I read her diary," Yang admitted sullenly, getting to her feet without Pyrrha's help, "I was angry and it was a stupid thing to do and now I can't take it back!"

Pyrrha blinked a few times, silenced.

_Go ahead, _Yang though, waiting for the condemnation, _Say it: Yang, you went too far this time-_

"You're right," Pyrrha spoke up again, taking her towel from a dumbfounded Jaune and using it to dab sweat from her brow, but rather than twisting the knife, she continued, "You can't take that back, but you can apologize,"

Yang gritted her teeth, _Apologize huh? Yeah, I suppose there's that… _

Yang glanced over at Jaune, who had a shocked look on his face, "Yeah… I'm pretty pissed at myself too right about now. I'm-, I'm gonna make this right though,"

Pyrrha nodded approvingly, "Good to hear, and when you do, Send Weiss my way-, she could join Jaune and I for a few practice sessions; I think we might all benefit,"

"Uh… Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, sounding puzzled.

Pyrrha punched him affectionately on the shoulder as she finally stepped out of the boxing ring, "Relax Jaune; I won't let _Snow Angel _hurt you too much,"

Yang couldn't help but snicker despite the circumstances, "She'll hurt you a lot less if you don't call her _Snow Angel _though,"

* * *

"Yang, before I let you in, you have to promise to apologize to Weiss!" Ruby insisted as she stood between her big sister and the door to their dorm, arms spread wide, desperately trying to ignore shaking of her own knees before adding weakly, "I… I'll get Pyrrha if I have to!"

"Relax sis… I actually just came from a chat with her,"

Ruby blinked a few times in puzzlement, "Huh?"

"Just let me in sis," Yang pushed Ruby gently aside, undeterred by her sister's objections and flailing arms.

Once shed forced her way inside the dorm, she quickly shut the door behind her in Ruby's face and leaned up against it, holding the door shut, leaving Ruby to impotently struggle against Yang's weight. The lights were still off in the room, just as before, but Weiss was sitting on her bed, staring down into the little mirror in the makeup kit she'd slapped out of Yang's hand a couple hours earlier.

"Weiss…"

"Stop," Weiss shook her head, snapping the little mirror shut, "Let me go first,"

Yang swallowed, "Yeah, okay,"

Weiss nodded her appreciation, standing up and turning to face Yang, "First," the Princess took a deep breath, "You were right; I was being a child-,"

"Okay I'm gonna stop you there," Yang cut her off, "Yeah, your friggen self-pity rubs me the wrong way," it was Yang's turn for a deep breath, "But I'm the one apologizing here Princess-,"

"Don't call me that," Weiss snapped, her voice suddenly like ice, but it quickly softened again, "Please…"

"Sorry… I… I guess that hits a bigger raw nerve than I thought…"

"You could say that," Weiss nodded.

"So anyway… I guess what I wanted to say was that I'm sorry; I lost my temper and well… I kinda flew off the handle… but I guess that's kinda obvious."

"I won't disagree,"

Yang's right eye twitched, _Calm down Yang, you probably deserved that… _"So… wanna talk about it?"

"Sure," Weiss obliged, much to Yang's surprise, "You wanted to know why I was so upset about losing? It's because my father doesn't handle disappointment well Yang, but he wasn't always like that," Weiss swallowed, fighting back tears and her stubborn pride, "I… I just want my daddy back, and I'm trying to meet him halfway,"

"So that part about your mom-,"

Weiss shot Yang a withering look.

"Sorry… That's really not my business I guess,"

"No, it's not,"

Yang felt a touch of admittedly unjustifiable frustration at Weiss's unwillingness to share her load, despite having agreed to talk, "Alright, well… you don't need to tell me anything that you don't want to, and again, I am so sorry for reading your diary… can you forgive me?"

Weiss let out another sigh, "I really don't want to,"

Yang's heart sank.

"But," Weiss continued, "If there's one thing I _have _learned from my Father, if only by negative example, it's that not forgiving people doesn't solve anything; I was angry at Mother too, but no amount of hating her for what she did could undo it or bring her back home,"

Yang wasn't about to press for more details; instead, she stepped away from the wall and gave a startled Weiss a bear hug, clapping the startled heiress on the back a few times, "Thanks Weiss; I promise not to do anything like that _ever again."_

It was at that moment that Ruby quite literally tumbled into the room, having pushed the door open with all possible force, only to find that Yang had removed herself from the barricade, and thus was Ruby now sprawled on the floor, her read cloak splayed out covering a substantial portion of the floor between the bunk beds.

"Yang! I hope you-!"

"Relax sis, I did-,"

"Yang!" Weiss's voice sounded somewhat strangulated, "Your suffocating me!"

"Oops… He he… Sorry about that,"

**Author's Note: Okay so this one is admittedly a bit more of a Yang chapter, but I thought that her perspective was best to resolve their issues. On a different note, seeing as I'm coming up on the end of my semester fast, I can't promise to keep putting out a new chapter for every day of the week… I can however pledge with reasonable certainty to come up with **_**at least one**_** per week as long as I can come up with places to take this story. Anyone interested in seeing as much of this story as possible are encouraged to leave feedback in the reviews. I hope you enjoyed it; hopefully the next one will be done before too long. **


	8. A Helping Hand

**Author's Note: Alright, so this chapter takes place after a bit of a time-skip from the last one; nothing too huge- a few weeks at the most, just long enough get past the Vytal festival and any potential immediate fallout thereof (despite the speculative hand-grenade that I threw out there with Weiss's backstory, **_**I**__**am trying**_** to be canon-friendly here) so as not to speculate about what is almost certainly going to be the next arc of the series proper. Thus, I have skipped ahead to a non-descript time so as to have greater room to maneuver, hopefully without coming into conflict with future canon too much. Enjoy, and please, let me know what you think.**

_Why did I ever agree to this? I have studying to do, _Weiss fumed to herself, _There's only so many time that I can send Jaune flying, or watch Pyrrha send him flying, before it ceases to amuse. _

"Come on Jaune! Get up!" Pyrrha called out to her team leader, currently lying flat in the grass, "You've almost got it! Just give it another try!"

After they'd reconciled, Yang had told her that Pyrrha had invited her to practice combat skills with Jaune and herself, but with the Vytal festival so close, Weiss hadn't gotten the chance. Not wishing to appear disrespectful of the gesture though, after the festival had come and gone, Weiss had hesitantly knocked on team JNPR's room to accept the offer; who better to help her improve than the best, right? If she'd learned anything from the practice match, it was that she wasn't as strong as she'd like to think.

When the door flung open though, Weiss had been blindsided by a fluffy ping pillow, "Ren! You weren't supposed to dodge that!" Nora had whined as the pillow fell from Weiss's face, revealing her twitching eye as Nora rushed over to retrieve the projectile, "Sorry Weiss…"

Taking a deep breath, Weiss had forced herself to be nice as Ren bowed apologetically and force Nora to do the same, "It's fine. Are Pyrrha or Jaune here?"  
"Nope!" Nora had responded, springing back to a cheerful standing position, but offering no further explanation.

"They're out training," Ren explained more helpfully, "they spend the first hour after classes working to get Jaune up to speed every day; If you don't mind waiting, they should be back in fifteen minutes or so,"

Weiss nodded her understanding, "Thank you-,"

"Ooh! Ooh! Come on in!" Nora exploded with enthusiasm, "We were just about to have tea!"

Weiss wasn't sure what surprised her more; the spastic manner in which she was abruptly _dragged _into Team JNPR's room, or the fact that Nora was a _tea _drinker, "I wouldn't want to-, Ah!"

The door had slammed shut behind her and she was forcibly sat down on beside Nora on her bed, as she sang, "We're gonna have a tea party! We're gonna have a tea party!"

"I'm sorry about this Weiss," Ren apologized, pulling a third cup out of a cupboard, "Nora can be-, well, you know…"

Weiss allowed a little smile to tug at the corner of her mouth, "No, It's fine; I haven't had a tea party since…" _Mom… _"Since I was little,"

That was two days ago; now Weiss was taking Pyrrha up on her offer for the second day in a row. At the moment though, it wasn't Weiss's turn, and thus she sat on a bench at the side of the field watching Jaune fail time and again to land a hit on his partner. Time and again the lanky blonde went down, and time and again he got back up, just to get knocked on his back again. After a particularly nasty repetition of the cycle though, Pyrrha slung her shield over her shoulder and relaxed her stance.

"Alright Jaune, take a minute," she called over to the boy as he struggled back to his feet for what had to be the twentieth time that afternoon before turning and motioning to the Heiress, "You're up Weiss!"

_Where does she get her stamina?_ Weiss wondered as she stood and drew Myrtenaster, _She's been going for the better part of an hour now. _

Nonetheless, Weiss proceeded back onto the field and took her fencing stance, "I'm ready,"

To Weiss's surprise, Pyrrha shook her head, "Not like that; you're fast Weiss, but you've tried that approach on me before, and while it works when you catch me off guard, but if I'm ready for you, well… That method has troubled with shields…"

Weiss frowned. It was true enough, but…

"Then what do you suggest?" Weiss asked, letting her arms droop to her sides.

"Oh no! Please don't take that the wrong way Weiss!" Pyrrha walked her criticism back a bit, "Your fighting style is actually quite flexible, you just… You lean a bit heavily on the fencing moves,"

"Well, yeah," Weiss replied, bemused, "Myrtenaster is a rapier…"

"Yes," Pyrrha acknowledged, "but you're fixating on that; you don't take as much advantage of your Dust as you could be, and while you _do _take advantage of your semblance for mobility, most of the time you move in predictable straight lines. Also, you could use your semblance to compensate for holes in your defense when you have to fight up close, or even eliminate the need to get so close in the first place,"

"So you think I should focus on ranged combat?" Weiss thought about it for a moment, _Come to think of it, my most effective attacks on Ruby were all from well beyond arms reach… _She nodded, "Alright,"

Pyrrha nodded her approval, "If you can stay out of reach, all you have to worry about is attack, and make no mistake, defense only keeps you from losing; attacking is how you _win._" After a moment to let that sink in, Pyrrha once again assumed a fighting stance and armed herself, "Now, show me what you've got,"

"Right," Weiss nodded, internalizing Pyrrha's words as she now opted for a different fighting posture, Myrtenaster at the ready, albeit in a more neutral posture that wasn't overtly offensive or defensive.

Weiss's opening gambit was to switch Myrtenaster to the red setting ad launch a fireball in Pyrrha's direction, and then adjusted the chamber on her weapon again. As Pyrrha banked right to avoid the fireball whilst charging for Weiss, the fencer conjured a glyph under her feet to slide backward, stroking the ground with Myrtenaster's tip as she did so. The sheet of ice which sprawled out before her as a consequence surged forward until Weiss's athletic opponent found her right foot slipping out from under her. Heeding Pyrrha's advice though, Weiss didn't dash in to attack, instead she quickly flipped Myrtenaster's chamber back to red, firing another incendiary blast Pyrrha's way as the redhead tumbled earthward.

A mixed look of surprise and satisfaction on her face as she tumbled, Pyrrha converted Milo in its javelin form and jammed it into the ground, breaking through the layer of ice with the force from a discharged round. Using her weapon as a handhold, JNPR's star athlete heaved herself to a stable kneeling position and brought her shield about in only just in time to catch Weiss's fireball. Undeterred, Weiss fired off another volley as she drifted around Pyrrha in a wide semicircle as Pyrrha got back to her feet and yanked Milo back up from the ground, again pivoting to catch the second salvo with her shield. Absorbing the force with her shield, Pyrrha slid backwards until, rather perplexingly, she slammed into a hard vertical surface.

_I don't recall there being a wall here… _Pyrrha's eyes went wide as she turned her head in time to see the glyph behind her rapidly darken, affixing her to its surface, _oh dear-_

_I have her? Seriously? _Weiss wasn't quite sure if she believed it; she'd though that she'd had the advantage in the practice match too, and that didn't turn out so well.

Shaking her head to focus herself, Weiss altered the properties of the Glyph holding her opponent in place with a quick flip of the wrist, launching Pyrrha forward as though from a slingshot. Unlike the panicked flailing that Jaune had exhibited in these circumstances though, Weiss found that Pyrrha remained, as was to be expected, much more collected; she held her shield forward as she rocketed in Weiss's direction. Taking full advantage of the mobility glyph on which she stood, Weiss dodged the human projectile bludgeon of her own making. Adjusting Myrtenaster's chamber again, Weiss fired a volley of ice-Dust projectiles, which fixed themselves to Pyrrha's wrists and ankles as she staggered to regain her footing. Setting Myrtenaster to the white setting, Weiss now launched herself forward for the finishing blow. Unable to recover her stance as Weiss rocketed for her, turned Milo around in her hand, still free above the block of ice which now encased her wrist and awkwardly yanked the trigger with her thumb. When the dust had settled, Myrtenaster's blade was situated inches from Pyrrha's throat and Milo was similarly acquainted to Weiss's sternum.

"Well…" Weiss spoke first, between heaving breaths, "It seems that you were right…"

Pyrrha smiled, stepping back awkwardly, still encumbered, "See? You just need to make full use of your advantages,"

"I can't thank you enough for this Pyrrha," Weiss relaxed her own posture now, "I really needed this,"

"It was nothing," Pyrrha shrugged, shattering the icy shackles with a concentrated burst of her aura, "You already had all the tools; you just had to open you mind and clear you head a little,"

"I guess…"

Pyrrha's brow furrowed, "Is there something else?"

"Not really; it's just that our team practice match was a bit of a wake-up call for me,"

"Oh?" Pyrrha asked, "Though now that you bring it up, I do recall you and Yang having some issues after that,"

"Yeah," Weiss admitted, sheathing Myrtenaster with a slight nod, "I… didn't take losing very well… and Yang didn't take _that_ particularly well…"

"Hmm…" Pyrrha thought aloud, "If I may… I think your problem is that you expect too much of yourself,"

"Excuse me?"

"You aren't willing to accept that you can't handle everything on your own," Pyrrha clarified.

_I have no patience for failure._

Weiss sighed, this too was an accurate assessment, "You could say that it doesn't sit well with the family creed,"

"You know Weiss, we have something in common," Pyrrha stated apropos of nothing, provoking a puzzled look from Weiss before she explained, "Both of us were expecting to be team leader, yes?"

Weiss bit her lip; it was still a bit of a sore subject, "Yes,"

Pyrrha nodded, "The difference then, is that for me, getting passed over was actually a relief, whereas you were plainly disappointed,"

Weiss was silent.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, and please, stop me if I'm overstepping, but either you don't know how, or don't want to lean on anyone; that's why you can't lead Weiss; a leader doesn't try to face the everything alone, they take point and guide their followers to success,"

Weiss nodded and swallowed, "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Why were you relieved to be passed over? You're probably the strongest student at Beacon, yet you're _relieved _to have, and I say this as a friend, _vomit boy_ as your team leader?"

Pyrrha chuckled, "Yeah, weird, I know… I' good at fighting and killing Grimm but…" she admitted with a sheepish smile and a nod of the head in the direction of her team leader, who was currently sprawled on a bench, "…but I'm not exactly what you'd call 'assertive,'"

Weiss couldn't suppress a chuckle, "I still don't know what you see in him,"

Pyrrha blushed, "He's a nice guy…"


	9. Surprise!

**Author's Note: Hello all, I'm back with another chapter. This one's considerably lighter in tone than the preceding ones, so for anyone who was looking for a bit of a breather… here you go I guess. On a different note, I'm thinking about introducing a new character for the next arc that I'm going to start within the next two chapters, to which there may be a noncommittal reference within this chapter. Also, while I'm thinking of it, I'd like to plug elfenlied1012's **_**Snowy Vale **_**and Tear of Light's **_**Tell Me Something, **_**two excellent stories that also have a heavy focus on Weiss, which provided considerable inspiration for this story as a whole. That said, please enjoy, and let me know what you think.**

_Something is very wrong here._

They were sitting in lecture hall, as was their routine most every day, and also as transpired most every day, Professor Port was droning on and on _and on _about his own accomplishments in the days before his hair had greyed and his waistline expanded. All this was a daily occurrence, but what could not be said to occur with regularity was that Ruby appeared to be paying attention.

_No. No, no, no, no, no. Ruby doesn't pay attention to Professor Port's lectures-, I don't even always pay attention to him…_

Weiss was wracking her brain, but couldn't conjure an explanation for the fact that Ruby was leaning forward in her chair with her elbow on her desk propping up her head as she seemed to watch the ponderous instructor with rapt attention

_Is she ill?_

Normally, Ruby would spend Port's lectures doodling in her notebook or spinning her pencil around on her desk. On the rare occasions during which Team RWBY's fearless, if thick leader manifested the will to learn from Port's lecture, she would instead attempt to copy Weiss's notes with all the subtly of a puppy on a caffeine drip. Actually paying attention to the lecture herself though? This was new, and a touch unnerving.

_She's taking notes? _Weiss couldn't help but furrow her brow, _Definitely ill…_

"Miss Rose," Weiss nearly jumped in her seat as Port's attention settled in their direction. Ruby didn't have the benefit of a lifetime of stringent etiquette, however, and so she indeed did visibly jolt in her seat, "Uh… Y-yes sir?"

"Can you tell the class what is significant about the musculature of a Beowulf's jaw?"

"Uh…"Ruby shot Weiss a desperate 'help me' look, but couldn't come up with a stalling tactic, so she answered anyway with a noncommittal inflection, "…It bites really hard?"

Weiss palm met with her face, I s_hould've known…though I could've sworn she copied my notes on this yesterday…. Wait a minute-, she wasn't paying attention at all! _

As red-faced Ruby awkwardly sat down, aspiring to shrink out of existence and Professor Port went on to again explain that a Beowulf's jaws possessed far greater biting force than opening strength, another realization dawned on Weiss.

_If she wasn't paying attention though, what was she writing?_

Without actually turning her head to look, Weiss attempted to see what had actually been printed in her partner's notebook out of the corner of her eye, and then resisted the spontaneous urge to smack herself for her foolishness, _What are you doing? This is something that Ruby would do! Get a grip!_

Yet she couldn't resist, so Ruby's atrocious handwriting resisted for her. Of all the scribbled text on the page she could only make out three words: _...rid of Weiss…?_

_Rid of Weiss? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Does that dolt not think I'm good enough to be her partner?_

Again Weiss resisted the urge to slap sense into herself, _Get a grip! It's only three words… Out of context… But what IS the context?_

The bell rang, mercifully ending Port's egotistical lecture, "Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, remember to read chapter five for tomorrow!" he called as the students all made for the door, ignoring him almost to a man.

Taking this chance as she stood, Weiss turned to her partner, "Ruby, what were you-,"

Shoving her notebook and pencil into her bag without much concern for the pages she was ripping as she cut Weiss off, "Sorry Weiss I've gotta go; places to be, you know?"

_Rid of Weiss… _"Yeah, okay…"

With that, Ruby was gone in a flurry of rose petals.

_Does she seriously want to be rid of me? _Weiss fumed as she proceeded to the exit herself, her habitual scowl taking on a contemplative quality as she walked out into the hall.

"Hey there, Snow Angel,"

And suddenly the contemplation was supplanted by her regular workaday scowl, "What do you want Jaune?"

"Well… You see… If you don't mind…"

"Spit it out!"

Jaune cringing, putting up his hands in a defensive gesture, "Uh… Well I-, I just wanted to take you out for coffee! Please don't hurt me!"

Weiss's eyes narrowed. Jaune did have a pathetic habit of hitting on everything wearing a skirt, but he usually opted for more lousy pick-up lines, empty boasts and pathetic machismo, never quite getting to ask anyone out. _Something is off here…_

"I'm a tea drinker,"

"Tea's good too…"

_Very off…_

"Fine," Weiss wasn't quite sure who she'd surprised more, herself or Jaune; without Ruby available to question about her erratic behavior, Weiss wasn't about to let this peculiarity go unexplained.

* * *

So it was that Weiss found herself sitting at a table in a nice café in Vale city, carefully scrutinizing the every move of Team JNPR's clumsy leader as he started back from the counter carrying a tray with two teacups and what looked suspiciously like two strawberry crepes.

_Was I wrong? Was this really just him asking me out?_ Then she glanced over at the menu again, taking note of the prices this time, _If it was then I suppose that I should tactfully apologize, explain myself, and pick up the tab… I don't think that he can afford this place…_

"You checkin' me out?"

Weiss's left eyelid twitched, _Then again, I'm sure he'll manage somehow… _"Don't push you luck Jaune,"

"Sorry," the blonde apologized as he set her tea and what had indeed turned out to be a strawberry crepe in front of her.

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she subjected the sweet repast to a cursory examination, _he wants something from me… _"I don't remember asking for this,"

"I… I thought you might like it; you know, 'cause it's sweet like-,"

"Don't finish that sentence,"

"Yes Ma'am,"

Weiss scrutinized the boy all the more closely, _Ma'am? That settles it! this isn't a date at all! _She sighed with relief, _Thank goodness… but then…_

"Do you not like strawberries?" Jaune asked nervously, completely misinterpreting her relief.

"No, it's fine, thank you," Weiss assured him, taking a bite of the crepe before she continued, "but are you sure you can afford this? Even I think twenty lien is a bit expensive for tea…"

"Yeah…" Jaune's hand went to the back of his head, "I was kind of shocked too…"

"So you aren't familiar with this place then?"

"Uh…" Jaune's eyes darted to either side, clearly searching for some sort of out, "Well Yang-,"

_Big mistake, Arc, _"And what, dare I ask, does Yang have to do with this?"

"Uh…" Jaune was clearly out of his depth.

"Yang put you up to this didn't she?"

Beaten, Jaune nodded, "Paid for it too…"

_The plot thickens._

"And why was Yang interested in-, Wait! If there's a camera hidden here somewhere, I swear I'll-!"

"No no! There's no camera, I promise! Well, none that I know about anyway…"

"Why!" Weiss demanded again, forming a fist on the table.

"I don't know, I swear! She just shoved a hundred lien in my face and told me to take you here,"

Weiss stared at him for a good minute before taking a sip of her tea and another bite of her crepe, "Alright fine; I'll play along,"

"You'll what?"

"We'll finish here-, No sense in wasting Yang's charity-, and then we're going straight back to beacon for some answers,"

Jaune blanched, "She'll kill me if she finds out I told you-,"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "And why is that?"

"Because she said so,"

"Hmmm…" _This is related to Ruby's scribblings in Port's class, I know it, but how…_

The rest of the 'date' transpired in silence as both of them quietly finished their tea and crepes, one puzzling over why she'd been dragged out here, though not without making a mental note to remember the place (it was a nice little place, if expensive, but that hardly mattered for her) and the other fretting internally about the fate that awaited him upon their return. Though Jaune stalled and dragged his feet as much as he dared, they both eventually finished their food and, Weiss dragged Jaune out of the café and back to the airship station. On the way, Jaune missed no opportunity to stall their progress, forcing them to stop and direct a Faunus girl with a foreign accent to From Dust 'Til Dawn, after a few flop pickup lines, naturally, and offering to buy Weiss flowers to apologize for the whole fake date business. After telling Jaune where he could stick his apology flowers Weiss managed to shove the hopeless knight-errant onto the airship, and off they went back to Beacon.

Once firmly atop Beacon cliff again, Weiss was then forced to wait several minutes more as Jaune's motion sickness got the better of him and he lost his crepe to the nearest trash can. She contemplated leaving him behind at that point, but thought better of it; there was no reason to let him out of this, especially not when his presence would limit Yang's range of deniability. Thus, it was only a generous ten minutes _after_ they had disembarked that Weiss started for the dorms, dragging Jaune dejectedly behind her.

After several hallways and stairways, and several dozen perplexed looks and whispered questions from their peers, Weiss and Jaune arrived outside Team RWBY's dorm, which Weiss promptly threw open, "Yang! I swear-,"

Weiss's anger faded to confusion as her eyes met Ruby's, the younger girls suddenly stock-still like a deer in the headlights, "Hey Weiss…" Ruby made a pathetic attempt to hide the big paper snowflake in the folds of her cloak, "I though you and Jaune were still going to be in town for a while…"

Weiss stepped into the room, her look of puzzlement deepening, "What is-, Gah!"

Weiss's question was abruptly cut of as Nora sprang out from behind the door shouting, "Surprise!" but then finding no one else following along, Nora shrugged, raising little pink kazoo to her lips and giving it a honk.

"Jaune…" Yang was tapping her foot from the right side of the room, having just finished taping a string of paper snowflakes onto her and Blake's bed, "You were supposed to keep her out until five!"

Jaune cowered behind Weiss, "Please don't hurt me!"

_Nice going, Hero. _

"What is all this?" Weiss asked, uninterrupted this time as she noted the general snowflake motif that had been applied to their dorm and Blake's attempt to gently kick a giftwrapped package under her and Yang's bed.

"We have the-, oh dear…"

Weiss turned to see Pyrrha and Ren steering a cart into the room from the hallway, on which was situated a preposterously large cake in the shape of Schnee Castle.

Weiss turned back to her teammates, "Is all this…?"

Ruby smiled awkwardly and presented Weiss with the snowflake that she hadn't had the opportunity to hang, "Happy Birthday?"

Weiss blinked several times, _Was that today…?_ "I…"

Yang heaved a sigh as the wheels spun in Weiss's mind, "I guess the jig's up; Happy B-Day Prin-, Weiss,"

"But how did you-, I forgot-!"

Blake raised a hand, a slightly guilty look on her face, "I may have _examined _your enrollment records…"

"Never mind that -! How'd you FORGET YOUR BIRTHDAY?" Nora exclaimed, bouncing on her heels, "Birthdays are great!"

"I…" Weiss chose her words carefully, sitting down on her bed, "I haven't really celebrated it since I was ten,"

"WHAT?" Nora exclaimed, "That's no good!"

"No it is not," Yang agreed, a smile springing back to her face, "But I guess that just means we've got a lot of celebrating to make up for don't we?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered, "That is… If you're okay with that…"

Weiss thought about it for a moment, then smiled, "You know what, that actually sounds nice, and since you've already gone through the trouble, so thanks, I guess,"

Yang clapped her on the shoulder, "Atta girl," she nodded to Blake, "Go ahead and bring 'er out Blake,"

Nodding, Blake pulled the giftwrapped box out from under the bead and presented it to Weiss, "I honestly wasn't expecting Jaune to keep you out until five, but you figured it out even faster than I thought, so well done,"

"Thanks," Weiss replied, accepting the gift and trying not to get choked up.

"We didn't know what to get you at first," Ruby explained preemptively, "You know, since you're kinda rich-,"

"Ah just let her open it sis!"

"Right," Ruby fell silent.

Weiss gingerly pulled at the blue ribbon wrapped around the box and then carefully undid the wrapping paper, _What is it?_

"Get on with it!" Yang and Nora shouted at once, causing Weiss to jump in her seat, nearly knocking her head on Ruby's bunk.

Dismissing a momentary wave of annoyance, Weiss tore off the wrapping paper with greater haste. After opening the cardboard box that had been under the wrapping paper, Weiss found herself presented with a little white jewelry box. Setting aside the cardboard and wrapping Weiss picked up and opened the velvet-lined boxed revealing the silver snowflake pendant inside.

"It's a locket," Ruby continued her explanation, "Do you like it?"

Weiss nodded, "But this must have been expensive-,"

"Which is why _you're _sponsoring the _our _next birthday parties!" Yang teased, "Now put it on!"

Weiss obeyed, and was then unceremoniously heaved to her feet. Before she knew what was happening, she was hemmed in by Ruby on the right and Yang and Blake on the left.

"Alright Pyrrha, take the picture!"


	10. Truth or Dare

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's that Party game chapter as promised, and I'd like to thank everybody for the reviews and feedback- please, keep it up by the way- Enjoy! **

"Aaaaalright Ladies and Germs!" Yang called the room to attention, slamming her cup down on the table for emphasis, "Now I'm sure we can all agree that no party's complete without games…"

_Oh no…_

Pyrrha maintained her polite smile, but at least Jaune and Ren had the sense to visibly share her apprehension. Nora on the other hand, had an ear to ear grin, possibly fueled by a sugar rush brought on by consuming roughly half of the confectionary representation of Schnee Castle, and Ruby was too distracted by the plate of snowflake patterned cookies to pay her sister any attention as Yang moved across the room to lean up against the door, blocking the only avenue of escape, unless they felt like taking their chances with the window…

"Sooooooo…" Yang continued, a self-satisfied grin on her face as she produced a glass bottle, "How 'bout a drinking contest?"

"Yang!" Weiss sprang up from her seat, "We're minors! And your _own sister _is only fifteen!"

"Kidding, kidding," Yang put up here hands defensively, not putting the bottle down though, "It's empty anyway,"

Weiss let out a sigh of relief, _Oh thank-_

"It's for spin the bottle!"

_Dammit!_

"Um… Yang…" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow and shooting an oblivious Jaune a meaningful glance, "Not that I object… but we only have two boys here…"

"So?"

"Think of it this way," Blake pitched in for the first time, "That means there's a chance that-,"

Pyrrha reddened, "Thank you Blake, I think I've heard enough,,,"

"I for one _do _object!" Weiss exclaimed, "What is wrong with you?"

"Jeez… It's like you've never had a birthday party or something..." Yang complained.

Weiss shot her a dirty look, "That's neither here nor there Yang! _No lewd games!_"

"Fine, fine," Yang set the bottle down, pulling a deck of cards out of her pocket instead, "Strip Poker then!"

Jaune and Ren got up to leave, "Uh, Yang, I think maybe Ren and I shouldn't be here for something like that…,"

"You're not going anywhere Jaune," Yang shot him a mischievous look, "You've gotta make up for your screw-up earlier, and besides," she winked, "Pyrrha's not leaving either,"

"Huh?"

Pyrrha blushed transparently, shooting Yang a dirty look of her own now.

Exhibiting marginally better sense, Ren made no attempt to ask permission, simply making for the door, but halfway between Yang and where he'd been seated, Nora tackled him, "No way! You're playing too REN!"

As Ren tried to disentangle himself from the human pixie stick, Yang made a conciliatory gesture, "No dice then? Alright…" Her eyes lit up again, "What about strip _mahjong?_"

Weiss's palm met with her face, a behavior she'd been exhibiting with anomalous frequency since coming to Beacon, "Yang…"

"Truth or dare?"

Weiss was about to gratefully accept this option when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ruby freeze with a terrified squeak, cookie held halfway between the plate and her mouth, _This… does not bode well…_ "Does anyone _else _have a suggestion?"

Ren was finally able to get up after Nora moved off to eyeball the last tower of Schnee castle meaningfully, "Perhaps go fish?" he offered as he sat took his seat again, brushing dust from his trousers.

_That sounds innocuous enough…_

"Boooring!" Yang Vetoed, "We need something more… exciting!"

_Exciting… Oh dear…_

Weiss looked desperately from one friend to the next. Ruby was curled up on the bed, hiding in her cloak and muttering to herself, Blake couldn't be bothered with anything outside of her book, and Nora had an unsettlingly large piece of cake jammed in her unconcerned face. Ren was trying, and failing, to keep the nervous look off of his face, and Jaune looked queasy. Pyrrha, the one person who could conceivably clear the way for an escape attempt, just sat there, red-faced, staring at her knees.

_So much for that, _Weiss gritted her teeth, _So the options are random kissing, stripping, stripping and God only knows what manner of embarrassment, possibly involving kissing and stripping… I'm not loving those options…_

Yang's evil grin spanned the blonde's entire face, "To be fair, the Birthday Girl gets to choose which one we play…"

_Great, time to pick your poison Weiss…_

"Well?"

_Okay… so with spin the bottle, there will definitely be kissing, so that's out… and I suck at card games… So mahjong… no, I'm no good at that either…_

"A decision, Birthday Girl?"

She'd been so immersed in mulling over the Hobson's choice that Yang's raised voice startled her, and Weiss jumped and blurted, "Truth or dare!"

Yang clapped and rubbed her hands together eagerly, "There we have it; the Birthday Girl has spoken!"

_Dammit Yang!_

"And since it's _your birthday, _you get to go first!" Yang continued, ignoring Weiss's angry look, "I will say this much though, no one's leaving this room for the next hour, unless it's for a dare, and if anybody tries to run off on a dare, well…" She just let it hang there.

_That settles it then; no escape… _"Fine then, Ruby, truth or dare?"

_No way in hell am I going to be the one to give Yang a turn at this._

"Um…" Ruby had the most terrified 'don't hurt me' look on her face, "Truth…"

_Don't worry Ruby… _"What's your favorite color?"

"You're not serious?" Yang's jaw dropped, "Just look at her!"

Weiss shot her another dirty look, "I'm sorry, was it your turn?"

Yang frowned, but said nothing more.

"Red," Ruby answered, immense gratitude dominating her face now, "Jaune… Truth, or dare?"

"Do I have to play?"

"Yes, vomit boy,"

Jaune groaned, "Truth,"

_Good, he gets it…_

"What was the first monster you beat?"

Weiss derived at least some small satisfaction to see Yang's frustrated expression as Jaune bemusedly answered, "Uh… an Ursa,"

Pyrrha gave a little smile, but said nothing.

_Good, good… now you just have to choose-_

"Yang!"

_Dammit Jaune! You idiot! All you had to do was play along you dolt!_

Yang's grin returned with a vengeance at Jaune's ill-considered attempt at revenge, "Dare,"

_Since you insist upon giving that maniac a turn, at least stick it to her-_

"Sing happy birthday to Weiss!"

_Oh come on!_

"We've already done that," Nora complained.

Yang shrugged, "The man has spoken,"

And so ensued the most ear-splitting solo rendition of Happy Birthday ever conceived.

"Good grief, please-! Please just stop!" Weiss begged as Yang was about to launch into an encore.

Yang snorted as she fought back torrents of laughter, "Whatever you want Birthday Girl. Truth, or dare?"

_Time to face the music, _"Truth,"

"Hmmm… What to ask?" Yang stroked her chin for dramatic effect.

"Just ask the damn question!"

"Alright," Yang smirked, "What's your cup size?"

_Is it too late to try my luck with the window?_

Jaune, who'd been taking a drink while he waited, spluttered, very nearly choking.

"I'm not answering that Yang,"

"Oh no, Birthday Girl, you picked truth!"

"It's such a lewd question though!" Weiss complained, "maybe if Jaune and Ren left for a moment…"

"Gladly," Ren agreed, both he and Jaune nodding.

"Not happening boys!" Yang glanced over at the time, "Not for… fifty minutes at least."

"It's not happening, Yang," Weiss obstinately refused.

"The only way you're getting out of this is if you lose a little somthin' somethin'…" Yang wore a suggestive grin as she trolled off.

Weiss was momentarily flummoxed by the out, but then she got it, "When did this turn into _strip _truth or dare?"

"When you refused to answer the question," Yang answered matter-of-factly.

Weiss chewed her lip, _This could set a very dangerous precedent, t but…_

"Fine," Weiss griped, bending down to pull off a boot, "Happy now?"

"Pfft," Yang wasn't impressed, "Not really, but I suppose that counts,"

_My turn again… Perhaps I could salvage this train wreck yet…_

"Ooh Ooh! ME! ME! ME!"

_Not happening, _Weiss wrote off Nora's excited entreaties, _I don't want to know what Nora would come up with on a sugar high…Then again, I don't want to know what she'd ask under normal circumstances either… or maybe… _"Alright Nora, truth, or dare?" Weiss gambled.

"Dare! Dare! Dare!"

_Alright… _

"Make it something _interesting_ this time!" Yang insisted.

_You want interesting? FINE! _Weiss decided that it was worth the risk,"Nora, force feed Yang that big chunk of castle wall,"

"Wait, what-?"

That was all the blonde could get out before a giggling Nora pounced on her, shoving the designated slab of vanilla cake in her face.

"Was that _interesting _enough for you Yang?" Weiss asked smugly as the rest of the room struggled to suppress laughter with varying degrees of success.

After several minutes of struggling under the onslaught of cake and pink, Yang was finally able to get back to her feet, wiping frosting off her unamused face with one hand, eye twitching at the sight of the glob off frosting clinging to her hair, "Oh it's on now; _nobody messes with the hair!_"

"You asked me my _cup size!_"

"That's completely different!"

_Well, yes, but I think you got your priorities confused… _"At any rate, it's Nora's turn, not yours,"

"Oh you just wait…"

"Jaune!" Nora sprang up from the floor, oblivious to the hostility brewing beside her and eager to take her turn, "Truth, or dare?"

_I would've thought she'd go for Ren… but hopefully Jaune has learned from last time…. _

"Um… Dare, why not?" He shrugged nervously.

Nora's frosting smeared grin broadened, "Kiss Ren!"

It was Weiss's turn to spit-take her drink.

"Wait a minute!" Jaune blanched as Ren reddened, "You can't just-!"

"You heard her Jaune," Blake prodded him in the back with slightly suspect book, a little grin tugging at her lips now too, "It's best just to get these things over with, right?"

Jaune swallowed, pulling off his shirt, "Forget it,"

Yang whistled suggestively as Jaune's svelte physique was put on display, "Atta boy! What do ya think of that Pyrrha?"

The redhead's face probably would have matched her hair had she been paying attention to Yang but as it was… she had other priorities…

Jaune turned to look bitterly back over his shoulder, "Blake, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Blake responded disinterestedly.

"Who do you think is the most attractive person in this room?"

"Somebody's fishing," Yang muttered.

_That's just sad…_

Blake shrugged, "Well, you Jaune, naturally; do you like cat ears?"

"Uh-, I-, er-,"

"I'm joking Jaune, relax," Blake rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to her book, "I'd say it's a toss-up between Yang and Pyrrha,"

"Toss-up? Like Hell!" Yang exploded, throwing the glob of frosting in her hand to the floor, "I am _so _hotter than she is!"

Blake just shrugged, "I seem to recall that the question asked was who _I _thought was most attractive,"

_Is she serious? _Weiss couldn't help but gape, but then Yang demanded Jaune's opinion on the subject and Pyrrha took exception to that as a little smirk played across Blake's lips, it all made sense, _Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but it's pretty damn funny either way…_

"I don't think I've ever seen Pyrrha so angry…" It was Ruby, emerging from the corner she'd been hiding in to speak for the first time since the first round of the game, "actually, I don't think I've _ever seen her angry..._"

"I know, right?" Weiss replied, watching with rapt attention as the boisterous blonde challenged her rival to a pose off, only to be rebuffed with the suggestion that the reason Yang couldn't beat Pyrrha in a fight had something to do a higher center of gravity, albeit delivered with startlingly vivid language, "And she's always so polite too…"

Around the time that Yang was shooting something to the effect of 'bigger is better' to Pyrrha, Blake cut in again, "Ladies, you're both beautiful, but I believe it's my turn,"

The two glowered at each other for a moment, but open hostilities eventually subsided as Pyrrha sat back down next to Jaune, although considerably, Jaune might have said awkwardly close this time and Yang leaned back against the door.

_Dammit! We could have gotten out!_

"Right, now then," Blake continued, not looking up from her book, "Ren, truth, or dare?"

"Dare," he answered flatly, to everyone's surprise.

"Well that's no fun… I'm sure Nora would've liked to hear you answer my question,"

_She's going straight for the jugular… _

"Do you have a dare or not?" He asked, a slight note of agitation coloring his voice.

"Kiss Jaune,"

"Blake!" Pyrrha, looking more upset than even Jaune, who was struggling to process what going on as Yang whistled again.

_Poor Ren, _Weiss thought as the more sculpted boy partially disrobed, _a casualty of Blake's twisted imagination… or perhaps just her smutty romance novels…_

Ren just took off his shirt, to Jaune and Pyrrha's immense relief.

The game degenerated from there; by the time Yang's hour nearly had elapsed, Jaune was down to his boxers, Pyrrha was hiding under Blake's blanket, and Weiss was thanking her lucky stars that Yang had found sufficient amusement in exacting revenge on Pyrrha for the having the sheer gall to having been suggested to be equally attractive by someone else altogether to forget about the frosting drying in her hair. Yet somewhere in the midst of all that, Weiss caught herself not having a horrible time-, enjoying herself even-, to the point that, in the last half-hour of the game, she didn't contemplate the consequences of a self-imposed three-story defenestration even once. Not until the last round, that is.

"Weiss, truth, or dare?" Came the now familiar line from Blake's lips, she now having finished reading a particularly saucy passage of _Ninjas of Love _aloud.

_We just had to stick it to the Birthday Girl for this last one, didn't we? Still, I suppose this was fun, _"Truth,"

"What are your measurements?"

Weiss couldn't remove her other boot fast enough.


	11. At Semester's End

**Author's Note: Hello folks, I'm back with another chapter! This one was a bit longer in coming because of the whole retcon business, specifically in that I had to rethink what was going to take place in that time while I continue to write that story on the side, but that problem is resolved now and this remains my primary project, and I'm going to deal with Weiss's prejudices later. For now though, enjoy the final exams chapter and look forward to winter break! As always, any feedback you can provide would be helpful and welcome, so please, enjoy!**

Weiss set down her pen.

_That's it then… let's hope all that studying paid off. _

First she glanced at the clock; it was ten minutes of noon.

_It's almost over…_

She surreptitiously glanced to the side to assess the status of her teammates, Blake was setting down her pen at that very instant, and though Yang was still busy at work, she was plainly disinterested, despite the gravity of the circumstance, as evidenced by the bored expression on her face as she blew a stray lock of golden hair out of her face. Least impressive was Ruby, whose exam paper was absolutely _covered _in impressively detailed doodles, yet she was only on the seventh of twelve pages. It absolutely dumbfounded Weiss that one _so talented _could be _so lazy…_

Letting out a sigh, Weiss turned her exam over to indicate that she was done and leaned back in her seat, looking about the rest of the room as Oobleck zipped forward, collected her test, and was back at his desk, sipping his coffee in an instant. Across the room where team JNPR was seated, Jaune was visibly struggling, but at least the poor guy was trying… On the other hand, Pyrrha and Ren were also sitting patiently for class to end as well, though Ren was perhaps exhibiting the more patience of the two, as Nora had decided to amuse herself by flicking paper footballs folded from blank sheets of her notebook at him.

_Eleven fifty-five…_

Jaune was mercifully spared Ren's fate as he finished the last page off his exam because Cardin, situated behind him, was too busy juggling various expressions of frustration and anxiety, occasionally glancing down to no avail; Jaune was unwittingly obscuring his paper as he hunched over it. The rest of Team CRDL wasn't doing much better…

_Two minutes…_

Oobleck took another sip of his coffee, "Two minutes, ladies and gentlemen,"

Ruby made a noise somewhere between a startled squeak and a groan.

_Well at least she's on the tenth page now…_

RWBY's team leader was scribbling furiously now as all three of her teammates watched with concern. She sped through the last two pages of questions faster than she could possibly have actually read them, though Weiss's worry and disappointment was somewhat mitigated by the fact that the last two pages were all multiple-choice.

"Pens down ladies and gentlemen," Oobleck set down his coffee for the first time that class period for the instant that was required for him to dash about the classroom and collect the remaining exams.

Ruby made a piteous attempt to resist, cringing as Oobleck pulled it from her fingers.

"Well… That was a thing…" Yang commented, lacing her fingers together and stretching her arms out in front of her as she leaned back in her seat, ""My head kinda hurts though…"

"History is important Yang," Blake chided, albeit with a friendly smirk.

"Indeed," Weiss nodded; it was an admittedly conditioned response, brought on by years studied diligence, but true enough nonetheless.

"I don't think I did so well…" Ruby whined.

"Perhaps if you'd dedicated _half _of the energy that went into those _lovely _doodles," Weiss rolled her eyes, "You need to put more effort into studying, Ruby,"

"Nope!" Ruby's expression instantly brightened as she announced her defiance, "'Cause last we have Goodwitch!"

"That's still a final Ruby," Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"It is combat training though," Blake put in with a shrug, getting up from her seat.

"Exactly!" Ruby sprang up from her own seat, "In other words: the _only fun exam!_"

* * *

_Yeah Ruby… _Weiss fumed as she slid out of the way on a glyph, _The fun one..._

A sizable shaft of ice embedded itself where she'd been standing.

_If I didn't know better… _She mused as Jaune caught the brunt of dust-fueled hailstorm with his shield, getting buffeted to the ground in so doing, _I'd say Goodwitch was actually trying to kill us… Oh CRAP!_

Weiss pirouetted, dodging a volley of needle-sharp icicles by inches.

_WAY… TOO… CLOSE… _

Clenching her teeth, Weiss turned back in Professor Goodwitch's direction as the instructor was amid pelting Ruby, Yang and Nora all at once. She needed a plan…

_Think Weiss… You've got dust too, you've got Myrtenaster, and sixteen-, _Russell Thrush and Dove Bronzewing went flying, _Well… Fourteen of us to just the one of her…_

Goodwitch's idea of a final was for half of the combat studies class to come at her at once. _Apparently _their scores would be determined based upon how long they could stay in the fight and how well they worked as a unit. In terms of the objective, it was a simple exercise really, but for the fact that the ordinarily collected and Professional Goodwitch was a one-woman army.

_Remember you advantages Weiss… _She took a few deep breaths in the momentary reprieve provided Cardin's headlong charge and subsequent tumbling trip back to the rear courtesy of the professor, _She's a master of Dustcraft but…_

Not that anyone had gotten close enough to test the theory, but that wand didn't seem like much of a close-quarters weapon…

Weiss nodded silently and readied herself, _Now you just need a distraction…_

Weiss cringed as she saw Velvet sprang just barely out of the way of a sheet of ice that plastered the rest of her team against the nearest wall.

_Eleven…_

Weiss grew nervous. They'd only been at this for… ninety eight seconds…

Then She saw her opportunity; Nora fired round after round at Goodwitch from Magnhild, forcing the stern instructor to conjure purple glyphs to halt the pink explosives. In itself this wasn't much, but Nora was positioned almost directly opposite Weiss relative to Goodwitch and Yang, Blake, and Ruby were further distracting her with volley after volley a position perpendicular to Nora.

_This is it!_

Weiss took a ready stance and launched herself forward, Myrtenaster ready to thrust.

Then Goodwitch struck back.

Dark clouds formed above Nora and the rest of Team RWBY even as Ren and Pyrrha sprang into action to pick up the slack when the ice showered down upon Red, Yellow, Black, and Pink The P and R of JNPR were swiftly repulsed as well with a more direct response in the form of two columns of ice. It was too late to stop now though.

_Almost there…_

Goodwitch turned back to deal with Weiss, raising her wand.

_No! No! No!_

Weiss switched Myrtenaster's setting to white and cast a glyph before her as she continued to hurtle in the instructor's direction. The move proved more successful than she could have hoped, as the barrier absorbed the onslaught as the gap was closed. Accumulated rime fell and shattered upon the floor as Weiss dispelled the barrier and made a stab for Goodwitch's torso. Her luck didn't hold though, as Goodwitch drew her wand in an upward arc, parrying Weiss's own weapon. Anticipating a counterattack, the Heiress ducked, and then launched herself into a flurry of spinning strokes, forcing Goodwitch to defend again; If she let Goodwitch take the offensive again, she was finished. Unfortunately, Goodwitch recovered before Weiss could restore her own footing, forcing her to spring skywards assisted by the glyph on which she stood as the ground beneath her froze, and then conjure another between her and the Instructor when she readied a salvo of Dust-born ice shards were screaming her way. When the volley had finished shattering upon her shield as she remained airborne, Weiss saw that the opportunity had passed, and with a gesture, the glyph launched her away and back toward her teammates.

_Two minutes… _Weiss thought as she slid to a stop between Ruby and Yang, _I wonder how long we have to stay in this? Have we passed y-_

"That… Was… AWESOME!" Ruby glomped the startled heiress in the spare moment, "You hit her! And she's like- _AWESOME!_"

"Ruby!" Weiss objected, prizing her team leader off of herself, eyes widening as she saw the incoming blast of hailstones, "This is NOT the time!"

"But-!" Ruby was silenced as she barely stumbled far enough back to avoid the flurry of hailstones, "Oh…"

"Seriously though," Yang clapped Weiss on the shoulder, "That was some serious guts goin' up there to take Goodwitch like _that,_"

"And look all the good it did us," Weiss muttered, "We need a plan,"

Team JNPR all surged to the fore at once now, providing another momentary reprieve for Team RWBY to collect themselves in a huddle.

"We could… Throw Cardin at her?"

Blake shook her head at Yang's suggestion, "that last hit he took laid him out pretty good… and I don't think Sky Lark weighs enough to be a threat…"

Ruby winced, "Well… it doesn't matter now… and Velvet just bowed out,"

_Come on, THINK!_

"Ooh! I've got an idea!"

"This is going to have to be better than that stunt at initiation Ruby," Weiss cautioned.

Blake nodded her agreement, "She'll see that coming,"

Ruby shook her head, "Nothing like that; Blake, Yang, you and I are going to rush in and hit her with everything we've got,"

"That's it?" Yang raised a concerned eyebrow as she shot a sidelong glance towards the fray as Jaune went flying, finally out, "'Cause…"

Ruby went on, ignoring her sister's reservations, "Weiss, can you back us up if you hang back?"

A small smile threatened to take over the heiress' face as she caught on, "I can…"

Blake nodded again, this time with comprehension, but wasn't totally sold yet, "Can you manage three of those glyphs at once though?"

"Sure she can!" Yang dismissed Blake's concern, "She was throwin' em all the over the place against that Nevermore!"

Weiss nodded, "I can cover you, now… Do or die time-, Nora just went down,"

"Right, let's do this!" Ruby hefted Crescent Rose.

The huddle broke and Weiss took a few paces backwards, as the others sprang forward into action. As the Ruby, Blake, ad Yang closed the distance and Ren was battered out of the fight, Weiss set Myrtenaster to the red setting ad tried to soften the Professor's defenses with a salvo of fireballs. The teacher halted the attack with a purple glyph of her own, but it hardly mattered, Pyrrha was still coming at her from one side and three fourths of Team RWBY from the other. It seemed that Goodwitch noticed this, firing three shafts of freezing dust at Weiss's teammates.

_No you don't!_

Weiss flipped Myrtenaster to the white setting and conjured barrier glyphs before her teammates to absorb the blast until it tapered off as Pyrrha came back with new vigor. Weiss let the glyphs flicker out to conserve her strength, but then she saw a pool of frost dust collecting on the ground beside Goodwitch and surging in Ruby's direction even as Goodwitch sent Pyrrha reeling with a blast in the opposite direction.

"Ruby! Watch out!" Weiss called, but Ruby was going too fast to heed the advice.

Weiss took a deep breath and focused, conjuring a glyph beneath the younger girl's feet and used it to sweep Ruby aside as the glacier erupted from the floor where she'd been standing seconds earlier. Before Weiss let the startled team leader go, with a flick of the wrist she flung the red-cloaked girl at her target. That, it seemed, was enough for Ruby to get the point, as she managed to initiate her buzz-saw scythe spin as she collided with Goodwitch… or would have.

Panic seizing her, Weiss scrambled to put the mobility glyphs under her teammates and Pyrrha in time to pull them all away as Goodwitch summoned a _blizzard _to engulf her immediate vicinity. Blake was the quickest to catch on, tapping the Gambol Shroud's pistol function as she slipped backwards even as the blinding flurry rapidly expanded to obscure the whole room for several moments. When the frozen tempest abated however, Goodwitch was gone.

_Where did she-?_

Weiss was utterly blindsided by the column of ice that careened into her side, throwing her to the floor and out.

"Weiss!" Ruby's eyes went wide as her partner tumbled to the floor off to the side of the combat area, but hadn't the time to ask if she was alright before meeting a similar fate alongside Blake, Yang, and Pyrrha all at once.

_Where did that come from? _Weiss wondered as she shook off the impact and searched the room.

"Well done, Ladies," Goodwitch congratulated from the far side of the room, "Excellent work,"

_How did she get all the way over there? _Weiss puzzled for a moment, but let it go; aches and bruises aside, finals were over now, that was it. The pain probably wouldn't really set in until she got up tomorrow.

* * *

_Wrong again Weiss._

She crushed the sheet of formal stationary in her hand.

_You really should have known better… _

She fought back the lump in her throat.

_It's not like it this it any different than the last few years…._

She threw the damned letter away.

_But he couldn't find time to write it himself?_

"Hey Weiss! We're going out for-,"

Weiss jumped at the sudden intrusion, frantically wiping the welling tears, "W-what Ruby?"

Ruby blinked several times from the doorway to their dorm, "Are you crying?" She was at Weiss's side before she could respond, taking Weiss by the hand with concern on in her eyes as she felt dampness on her sleeve, "What's wrong?"

Weiss gave a hollow laugh, "I'm sorry, I-, I guess that I seem to be making a habit of this…"

"You're not upset about the final are you?"

Weiss shook her head, looking wistfully out the dorm's window, "No… We were never going to beat Goodwitch Ruby, I'm not _that _full of myself…"

"Then what?"

She held up the envelope, its white wax snowflake seal broken, "I got a letter from home…Nothing new really; I'm just... Winter break's gonna be lonely again…"

"Agai-," Ruby caught the word before she finished it; maybe this was Weiss's first year at Beacon too, but her family life had been severely broken for a long time, and Ruby wasn't so dense as to dredge up that subject any further that her partner was willing to take it, "I'm here for you… You know… if you need me…"

Weiss wiped the tears from her eyes again and forced a little smile as realization dawned on her, _Ironic, I guess… _she thought, _this only hurts so much because you've actually got people to lean on this time… what a joke…_

Then she got an idea, "Hey Ruby?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Have you ever been skiing?"

"Uh…"


	12. For She Who Has Everything

**Author's Note: Alright, so here's another one! This is going to be the first of two winter break chapters; I figured It'd be topical, I guess. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and please let me know how you like it; reviews and critiques are quite helpful where improvement is concerned.**

"Oh… My… God…" Yang stared, slack-jawed, at the resort's main green, presently covered with a dusting of snow, "You're filthy friggin' rich!"

Weiss couldn't help a little satisfaction despite herself, "So we are,"

"I mean…" Yang continued, "It's a friggin' mountain!"

"An essential prerequisite for the construction of a ski resort," Blake affirmed dryly.

"Hey Ren! Think fa-,"

"Drop the snowball, Nora,"

Nora pouted, shoulders slumping, but she obeyed.

"I can't thank you enough for having us as your guests Weiss," Pyrrha thanked her profusely again.

Weiss wished that she'd stop; the resort was nothing to her but another testament to Father's unyielding commitment to his work above all else, "It's nothing Pyrrha, I come here every year," it was true enough, "I just figured it be nice to have some friends along for once," _for the first time. _

"Still, don't they usually charge a lot to stay at places like this?" Jaune asked, voice apprehensive, "I'm not sure I-,"

Weiss adjusted her crimson scarf wrapped about her neck at the collar of her white cardigan, somewhat angered by Jaune's suggestion, "You all are my guests, your expenses will be on my account; don't worry about it,"

"Hey!" It was Ruby, a few paces behind the Schnee Heiress' lead, laughing in the face of her own objection to the snowball that smashed against the back of her head, "I'll get you for that Nora!"

Ruby evaporated in a flurry of petals and reappeared at the side of the concourse leading up to the lodge, quickly collecting pat of the snowbank into a small personal arsenal, and proceeding to launch volley after volley of the snowy projectiles Nora's way. The elder, if no more mature girl responded by ducking behind her partner, using him as a human shield for the brief moment before Ruby realized that she was hitting an innocent man.

"Oops… Sorry Re-!" Ruby was silenced by a snowball roughly the size of her torso hurled by the giggling Nora.

"This a private fight, or can anyone get in on it?" Yang asked rhetorically as she lobbed snowballs at both girls.

Yang was buried in snow from the two former enemies.

"Oh it's _ON _now!" Yang shouted, clearing the snow off of herself in a burst of golden flame, surrounding her in a short-lived cloud of steam.

Weiss stood aloof, tapping her foot impatiently as her guests degenerated into a snowball melee, joined solely by Blake, who preferred to read as always, though this time she favored the resort's brochure.

_It's too cold to screw around out here right now! The sun's going down for pity's sake!_

"So Weiss…" Blake spoke inquiringly as Jaune's face was plastered by a snowball from Pyrrha.

"What?" Weiss tried not to snap at her, but wasn't sure that she'd succeeded, _Too damn cold…_

"Does your father use Faunus labor here?"

"No, Blake…" _not that she'll like the reason why, _"Father doesn't believe that-,"

Blake nodded, sparing her the need to say it, "I… I understand…"

Weiss imagined that Blake resented the implication, but wasn't going to hold Father's policy against her. It was accurate enough to say at least that Father didn't exploit unethically cheap Faunus labor _here, _this was because he had judged that to employ Faunus at a Schnee resort would be detrimental to the company's image.

"I know you don't like the company Blake, but please, can you _try _to enjoy yourself here? For me?"

Blake looked Weiss over incredulously, "…Sure, I-,"

Before Blake could finish, the moment was shattered by the snowballs with which Yang simultaneously pelted their faces.

"A moment Blake," Weiss spoke, a vicious look somewhere between a grimace and toothy smile, hand moving to Myrtenaster's hilt, "You want a fight, Yang?" she activated the weapon's blue chamber as she drew it, "I'll give you a WAR!"

* * *

It was some time later before the eight of them finally stumbled into the foyer of the lodge caked with snow and laughing despite soggy clothes and chattering teeth. They weir cheeks were all flushed with cold, Ruby's nearly matched her cloak. Nora hung on Ren, who wore a slight smile despite himself. Even Weiss herself was in a good mood, owing more than a little to the fact that, despite the snow melting at the back of her neck, she had definitely won. Perhaps the only one who wasn't visibly pleased was Blake, who was still trying to get snow out of her cat ears.

"Good evening Miss Schnee, would you and… Your friends… care to retire, or shall I send word to the dining hall?" The concierge approached, somewhat apprehensive of the trail of snow that the eight of them were bringing into the lodge.

Weiss took off her scarf, "Go ahead and let the chef know, but I think we could all do to stop by the suite first to change,"

"Of course, Miss Schnee, your luggage has already been received and moved to the imperial suite,"

"Well done," Weiss nodded, turning back to her friends, "Any objections? The Chef will prepare a full spread; there should be something for everyone,"

There were nods and shrugs all around, and the concierge set about his work.

"Imperial suite, huh?" Yang raised an eyebrow as Weiss led the group to the impressive carpeted main staircase across the lobby.

"I usually prefer the…" Weiss trailed off, reddening, "It's the only one big enough to accommodate all eight of us,"

"SLUMBER PARTY!" Nora exploded with glee so loudly that a bellhops jolted in surprise.

"It'll be just like the night before initiation!" Ruby agreed, "Except we're friends now so… Less… um…"

"Naw," Yang shook her head, "It'll be more like Weiss's Birthday-,"

"We are _not _playing truth or dare,"

"Fine," Yang allowed reluctantly.

"Or strip poker,"

"But-,"

"Or strip mahjongg,"

"You've gotta be kidding-!"

"I mean it Yang," Weiss warned, "You'll behave yourself, or you can start work on an igloo,"

"What about-,"

"No spin the bottle either,"

By the time Yang had exhausted her list of lewd party games, they'd reached the top of the stairs and were faced with a set of almost preposterously large mahogany doors with the words 'Imperial Suite' engraved in gold at the top of the threshold.

Jaune whistled, "That's a big door,"

Weiss produced the key-card and unlocked the entrance to the suite, "Alright, so there's two bathrooms, two walk-in closets, and I've sent word ahead of us to have extra beads moved in, so the bedroom. We'll have to take turns changing but-,"

"Yeah yeah, we get it Weiss," Yang pushed her way to the front and roughly threw open the massive doors, starting confidently in until she actually saw the place, "That's a… swanky place you got here…"

The suite's great room was dominated by a huge stone fireplace, surrounded by a half-dozen high-backed leather chairs and a pair of chaises. .

Weiss sighed, "Like I said, this is the only one that will comfortably accommodate eight, now come along; our luggage should be in the bedroom,"

When Weiss had managed to coax her five slack jawed friends and the more stoic, if nonetheless dazed other two back to the bedroom, she found indeed that their luggage was present, but that the concierge apparently hadn't understood her when she said that she needed beds for eight. Arrayed against the back wall of the room that was easily three times the size of a Beacon dorm were a total of four queen-sized beds.

Weiss's left eyelid twitched, "I believe… That I'll be having a word with the concierge…"

"Nonsense!" Yang cheered, her wits coming back to her, an evil grin spreading across her face, "Partners can just double up!"

Nora tackled Ren as she was frequently wont to do, whilst Pyrrha reddened and Jaune scratched his head, laughing nervously, "Uh… could I maybe just sleep on one of the chaises?"  
"Hell no! We gotta take advantage of these beds," Yang said pushing on one of the plush mattresses and then slinging an arm over Jaune's shoulder and pulling the surprised boy close enough to whisper in his ear, "Play your cards right and-,"

"Yang!" Weiss and Pyrrha shouted in unison.

Yang put up her hands as if to submit to arrest, "Alright, alright, I'll behave, but…" she raise an eyebrow, "How are we gonna split these up then? In all seriousness, partners seems as good a way as any,"

Weiss sighed, casting cursory looks about her friends, _Nora would certainly be disappointed if we didn't go by partners… but Pyrrha… _The redhead seemed embarrassed by the prospect, but her gazed remained fixed on the oblivious Jaune, _How does he not see it? _"You know what, we'll deal with this later; though Jaune, I won't stop you, but those chaises are a bit short to sleep on. At any rate, for now, we need to change and go have dinner."

* * *

"These cookies…" Ruby gaped at the mound of confections heaped upon her plate, "They're so pretty… I almost don't want to eat them…"

"Setting that aside, you really should eat something other than _cookies _for diner, Ruby," Weiss lectured her team leader, seated at her right hand, cutting into the swordfish fillet that she'd been fortunate enough to lay claim to before Blake had absconded with a mountainous pile consisting of all the available fish presented, "It would be rather wasteful not to eat them,"

"These have got to be the fanciest burgers I've ever-," Yang interrupted herself with a bite, "I've ever had,"

"It's called a Reuben sandwich Yang," Weiss rolled her eyes at the blonde on her left, pausing to take a bite of her own meal, "and I see no reason that you need _eight of them,_"

"Mmhmm," Yang shrugged as she stuffed her face again, "All that training burns calories-,' she said with her mouthful, then swallowed, "and besides, the extra always goes straight to my rack anyway,"

Weiss grimaced, stabbing her swordfish, "Absurd,"

Forcing herself to set aside dieter's bitterness, Weiss looked about the table and felt something resembling pride as everyone tucked into their meals. Blake was seated on Yang's opposite side, demonstrating a shockingly substantial appetite as she devoured plate after plate of various types of fish. Jaune had chosen a steak, though he seemed intimidated by its sheer size, while Pyrrha had a hearty, though reasonably portioned plate of chicken-pot pie. Ren most closely mirrored Weis's own choices, if only in portion size, as he had chosen a chef salad, whereas Nora had amassed the largest pile of pancakes and bacon that Weiss had ever seen.

_How? Just, how can anyone eat that much? _Weiss took a bite of the pilaf that came with her swordfish, _if I even thought about eating that much…_

"Hey Weiss," Ruby tugged at her sleeve, "could I uh… ask the chef for some more cookies?"

The silver-eyed girl's plate was empty but for some crumbs, _Preposterous! _"Ruby, you really should eat something else…"

Ruby's lip quivered and her eyes went wide.

_Damn that face! _"Fine, just don't make yourself sick,"

"Thank you!" and like that Ruby's expression was giddy, and she vanished in a storm of rose petals.

"Jeez, you'd think you're her mother," Yang teased, taking a bite of her fifth sandwich.

"You could do to lay off yourself," Weiss raised an eyebrow, "It's like you haven't eaten in a week,"

"The Beacon food's good," Yang offered, "but it ain't every day we get to eat like this, and besides, look at Nora and Blake!"

Both were inhaling pancakes and fish respectively with such gusto that one might be forgiven for thinking that they actually hadn't eaten in weeks.

"They don't serve a lot of fish at Beacon," Weiss allowed, "I don't care to guess about Nora's metabolism though,"

"Hmm?" Nora cocked her head a moment, before shrugging and returning to the pile of bacon on her plate.

Weiss couldn't get angry though, _Let them eat; this is… It's nice…_

* * *

Weiss ducked out of the bedroom just as the others got started in earnest on a pillow-fight of the century; snow was one thing, but the staff might look down upon her using Dust inside the lodge for such a triviality. As it was, Ruby and Yang seemed more than capable of holding their own, and Weiss didn't have much of a throwing arm. That was what she told herself anyway.

In the suite's great room she found Blake, curled up with a book on a chaise by the fireplace, occasionally picking sardines from a little silver platter, _She's almost like an actual cat…_

"You know, it baffles me how none of us could tell," Weiss thought aloud, sitting down in the chair nearest Blake as Jaune could be heard begging for mercy in the other room, "I mean, you're even _snacking _on fish,"

Blake shrugged, not looking up from her book, "You told me to enjoy myself, so I am; I'm not sure room service is terribly fond of me though,"

"They didn't-,"

"No, no, nothing like that," Blake assured Weiss, "it's got more to do with the possibility that this may or may not be my eight plate of sardines,"

Weiss was aghast, "How can you possibly _still _be hungry?"

Blake shrugged again, "I guess it's like Yang said: we just don't get to eat like this very often, so I plan to make the most of it,"

Weiss let out a long sigh, "Fair enough,"

A long quiet passed between them, the silence broken only by the crackling of the fire and the muffled shouts and laughter from the other room as she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. _This is nice, very nice…_

"Tell me something," Blake suddenly closed her book, "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything, I'm just curious, but why did you invite us all out here?"

Weiss didn't open her eyes, "It's like I said; I come here every year for winter break. I just thought it would be nice to have you all along since I have people to share it with this time,"

"This time?" Blake looked slightly concerned.

"Hmm…" Weiss mused aloud, "so Ruby kept it to herself… It's nothing really," she lied, "Father's just always been… _busy _this time of year,"

"Weiss…"

"It's not like I had it hard, I guess… Not like you," Weiss kept talking, "I mean, just look at this place; just another example of how I could have any… _thing _I wanted…"

"But you don't want _things, _do you?"

Weiss thought about it for a long time, lifting the little silver locket from her neck and staring at it, "What's there left to want?" she thought about it some more, "Except…"

"I'm guessing your father wasn't always…"

"Embittered and neglectful? No…" Weiss shook her head.

"Money changes people, I guess…"

Weiss laughed, "Don't be ridiculous; we always had _money, _Blake, it was the pressure, I think, after Grandfather died and Father had to take over the company… and then when Uncle died…"

Blake winced, "I… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Weiss sighed, "I doubt you could've had anything to do with it at eleven years old, and besides, Mother was the last straw,"

Blake was silent.

"I just…" Weiss searched for the right words, "It's been a while since I really had people to enjoy times like this with,"

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead," It felt good to unburden herself now and again, and Blake was nothing if not tight-lipped.

"When did you get that scar?"

Weiss froze.

"Never mind," Blake saw that it was a step too far.

"No, no, it's alright," Weiss assured her as she recovered herself, "In all honesty, I suppose that I did this to myself,"

Blake was both puzzled and concerned, "What?"

"After Mother… after that I decided that I needed to be perfect; that I was absolutely not going to give him anything else to be angry or frustrated about, you know? I decided that I was going to make him proud, and… I got ahead of myself…"

More silence.

The tension was suddenly broken when the door to the bedroom flung open and Ruby stumbled through, slamming it shut behind her, "Weiss…"

"What is it Ruby?"

"Do you mind if I sit out here with you-, oh, hey Blake, I didn't see you there…"

Blake let out a sigh and reopened her book; the moment had passed, "I'm a ninja,"

Neither Weiss nor Ruby could hold back a chuckle, "So I take it you've had enough of the pillow fight?"

"Well…" Ruby seemed nervous, "Yang kinda sorta might've started a game of spin-the-bottle… You weren't serious about throwing her out, were you?"

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation, _I was but… _"It's fine Ruby, as long as I don't have to be a part of it,"

Ruby gave a sigh of relief as she took the chair next to Weiss's, "Phew… I don't think Yang's hair could handle a night out in that cold…"

"Her hair?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk supplanting her previously solemn expression, "You're not worried about the rest of her?"

Ruby shrugged, "She wouldn't be,"

Blake snorted in amusement from the chaise.

Weiss quietly chortled as well, _Right, no more self-pity, you're here to enjoy yourself; remember that._

"So, what do you think of the place?" Weiss gave a vague gesture about the room, "These are the best accommodations of our premier resort, cool huh?"

"It's so… big…" Ruby was wide-eyed, "And everything's so…" She bounced a few times in the expensive chair, "…I don't know... expensive?"

"Again, don't worry about it," Weiss shook her head, "I'm thinking that we can try the ski trails tomorrow, does that sound like fun?"

Ruby's face lit up again in wonder, nodding vigorously, "It sounds awesome! I wouldn't have thought you skied though…"

"What, you don't think I can? I'll have you know that I am quite good at it!"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ruby shrank back, "It just seems like you could get hurt…"

Blake's ears twitched, but she stayed out of the conversation, leaving both involved parties oblivious.

Weiss laughed, "We're enrolled in a school training to fight _monsters, _and need I remind you that you were the one who tried to fight a _Deathstalker _one-on-one, and you're worried that I'd hurt myself while _skiing?_"

"Well when you put it like that…" Ruby poked her fingers together, embarrassed.

"At any rate," Weiss wove her fingers together behind her head, "I'll just have to show you how exceptional I am tomorrow,"

"You don't have to… I kinda-,"

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Weiss's eyes narrowed, but shrugged it off after a moment, much to Ruby's relief.

"I do wish the concierge had gotten the bed right though," the Heiress complained, "I'm getting tired, but it's going to be awkward no matter how we arrange it,"

"Yeah…"

"You can't say that the room isn't big enough for four beds," Blake chimed in disinterestedly, "Even if you're used to having this place to yourself,"

"Please!" Weiss objected, "I am not _that _indulgent! Normally I just take the Princess Suite!"

"Princess Suite?"

Weiss's face had begun to redden the instant she'd finished her objection, and was now a shade fit to match the red of her collar, "I-, um…"

Bake smirked, "So… I think that I could be persuaded to keep this quiet…"

"The best tuna every Friday for the rest of our time at Beacon," It was a bid more than anything else, "Yang _cannot _find out,"

Blake smiled, "A pleasure doing business with you,"

Weiss sighed with relief, slumping back in her chair, only then noticing Ruby snickering, much to her chagrin, "Princess Suite? That's so cute!"


	13. Loosening Up

**Author's Note: Okay all, here's the other chapter about their vacation; a nice, light and fluffy chapter before we dive on into a heavier chapter. I hope you enjoy, and please, leave feedback; I'm not sure about my ability to write comedy, so I've generally (with the exception of the Truth or Dare chapter) tried not to commit chapters wholly to laughs, so I'd love to know how I'm doing with this. Oh, and I'd like you thank everyone who reads and follows/favs this story; I really do appreciate it.**

Sleep still tugged at Weiss's eyes as she begrudgingly drifted back to a groggy state of wastefulness.

_No… definitely not getting up yet…_

Stubbornly fighting the encroaching fingers of consciousness, Weiss clung all the tighter to her teddy bear at her chest.

_I don't remember having such a heavy teddy bear… _she thought dimly, _Come to think of it… I don't recall brining one…_

Her pale blue eyes fluttered open to meet the as yet dimly lit room, the only light presently drifting in from the great bay window set in the middle of the back wall. No one else seemed to be awake, but that was fair enough; it was only about six-thirty. Resolving to get another couple hours' sleep Weiss looked down to examine the anomalous stuffed animal...

"Gah! Ruby!" Weiss jerked back with such violent surprise that she tumbled over the side of the bed behind her, taking the comforter with her.

Weiss winced, fumbling to disentangle herself from the mass of blankets, now very much awake.

"Weiss…" Ruby groaned, her own relationship with consciousness neatly mirroring what Weiss's own had been a moment previously, "…stop hogging the blankets…"

_What the hell was THAT? _Weiss fumed as she tossed the blankets back onto the bed, though she was hesitant to return to it herself now, _Do we both just toss and turn that much? No… I always sleep on my left side so…_

"It's too early to get up…" Team RWBY's half-conscious leader slurred, "just go back to sleep…"

_Nope, definitely not getting any more sleep…_

She sighed; applying her rational mind now as she took her locket from her bedside table and fixed the clasp about her neck once more, _No harm done… not really… and besides, she's been such a good listener… when she's not being a dolt… I guess I can just let it slide…_

She moved off into the walk-in closet and quickly changed into her preferred outfit and made for the suite's great room, quiet as a shadow. Jaune had apparently followed through with his offer to sleep on a chaise, as when Weiss entered the room she was met not only with his god-awful snoring but also the sight of him unconsciously draped halfway over the side of the piece of furniture.

Weiss shook her head with another disbelieving sigh, _How does Team JNPR sleep? _Then a more immediate curiosity played through her thoughts, _I'm actually surprised that Pyrrha let him escape… Oh whatever, it's too early to think…_

Without thinking, she opened up her scroll and dialed the number for room service, waiting to be acknowledged, and then placing her order, "Please deliver a pot of tea to the Imperial Suite,"

"Of course, Miss Schnee, will that be all?"

Weiss thought about it for a moment, "For now, but if you could bring up a breakfast spread in about an hour, that would be great,"

"Very good; your tea will arrive momentarily, and the rest in one hour,"

"Thank you; I'll be certain to tell Father what an excellent job you're doing,"

"Y-yes Miss Schnee, thank you very much,"

With that the Heiress closed her scroll and set it down, taking a seat in the other chaise, nearest to the still smoldering fireplace, _This is nice, _she thought, considering that this was the first vacation she'd taken that hadn't been by herself since…

She shook her head again, _No unpleasant memories Weiss… It's much too early in the morning for that; what matters is that you have people to spend the week with this time, not the last time you were able to say that. _

She relaxed, allowing herself to lean back and stretch out on the chaise, _Perhaps just a few more-_

The knocking on the doors to the suite was so loud that the dozing heiress jolted herself right off of the chaise, falling to the floor for the second time before sunrise. It seemed that Jaune had also met with a similar rude awakening, as he was now groggily struggling to his feet in his positively childish footy pajamas.

Weiss's face found its way into her palm as she got back to her own feet, _That's right, tea… Well, I guess I'm not getting any more sleep after all…_

Doing her best to mask her self-inflicted displeasure as went to answer the door, Weiss opened it for the room-service maid to enter, "Thank you for your… punctuality…"

Oblivious, the maid nodded, "We aim to please, Miss Schnee; here is the tea that you ordered, and the breakfast will be delivered as ordered as well,"

"Yes good," Weiss nodded, unenthusiastic, "but see that you inform the kitchen staff that I want an extra pot of coffee with breakfast,"

* * *

Some hours later, the weather had proved remarkably cooperative; it was a cloudless day and the temperature had risen a few degrees from the previous day. It was still cold, but not bitterly so, and the wind was still. Perfect conditions for skiing, or rather, they would have been perfect, had Yang just been able to leave well enough alone.

"Ya know," the Blonde lectured as She, Weiss, and Ruby rode the lift to the summit of the course for the second time, "When people go skiing, they usually use _skis,_"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "I've always used my glyphs, Yang; it's just easier to control that way,"

"But that's not _skiing!_" the Blonde persisted, "You've gotta get the full experience!"

Weiss rather wished that Blake could have come as well, if only to serve as a calming influence on her partner; Ruby wasn't bothering her about it, but she couldn't be expected to contradict her sister either. Blake had instead opted to read by the fireplace back at the lodge, no doubt steadily relieving resort of its stock of sardines and anchovies, tin by tin, preferring not to risk filling her ears with snow again. The whole of Team JNPR had come out to enjoy the slope though, even if the male half had come only at the insistence/coercion of the female members. Team JNPR was on the lift behind them, however, and it was between Ruby and Yang that Weiss was now situated, insistently pestered about how she was cheating for not using actual skis.

"Luckily," Yang continued, hefting a spare set of skis the origins of which Weiss could only speculate about, "You can do it _right _this time,"

Weiss preferred to diligently ignore the blonde's complaints, but there was something about the somewhat concerned look in Ruby's eyes that made the heiress uneasy about doing so, _It's not like Yang can force me to wear-_

"Off ya get!" Yang unceremoniously shoved Weiss off of the lift and into the snow at the peak of the course, and before Weiss could struggle back to her feet to berate the blonde for her impertinence, the brawler grabbing her by the ankles, "Just… Hold… Still!"

"Yang!" Ruby finally objected, though she couldn't summon enough courage to mount a more active intervention, "Weiss doesn't want to do it like that!"

_Understatement of the YEAR! _Weiss thought as she struggled under the brawler's weight, but then she was reminded of how she'd woken up that morning, _The dolt had better not have her mind in the gutter!_

"There!" Yang announced, infuriatingly proud of herself as she stood and hefted the heiress back to her own feet, "Now we'll see if you can _actually _ski!"

Weiss looked down at the two runners now fixed to her boots with suspicion, "You know there's nothing to stop me from just taking these off, right?"

Yang seemed to consider this for a moment before simply shrugging, "I s'pose… Except for this!"

Both Weiss and Ruby were shocked as Yang gave the startled Weiss a shove down the powder-snow covered slope. Weiss's eyes went wide as she panicked, struggling first to stop, then to right herself so that she was at least facing down the hill as she started inexorably downward.

_Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh CRAP!_

Weiss's arms went like pinwheels as she tried to gain a semblance of control. It wasn't working.

_Damn it Yang! _

"Yang, how could you?" Weiss was dimly aware of Ruby's panicked voice as she slid progressively further away, "She could-, She could get hurt!"

Such a thought being not a thousand miles from her own mind, Weiss was nonetheless unable to stabilize herself long enough to conjure a glyph so as to disregard the clumsy skis. Instead, she merely continued to hurtle downhill, though mercifully not in the direction of any nearby trees.

_Concentrate Weiss!_

Gritting her teeth, Weiss forced herself to ignore the fact that she was flying down a slope without so much as a semblance of control and did exactly that: she concentrated. Going so far as to close her eyes, she visualized the Schnee sigil before her even as the brisk air whipped against her face. She took a deep breath, held out a hand before herself and conjured the desired shimmering rune an-

"I'm coming WEIIIIIISSSSSSS!"

_Ruby?_ Her concentration utterly shattered, Weiss glanced back over her shoulder to see Ruby shooting after her at a preposterous speed, "What are you doing you dolt?"

"I'm coming to rescue youuuuuuuu!"

"And how exactly were you planning on doing that?" Weiss demanded, something between confusion and frustration welling up inside her as Ruby came up parallel to her partner.

"Uh…."

The line of reasoning could not be further pursued, however, because it was at this moment that the glyph that Weiss had summoned exploded, knocking both of the partners backward and burying them in a shower of powder-snow. Weiss's ears were ringing as she became aware of the mound of snow trickling down the back of her neck and she poked her head back above the snow.

"Well… _at least we've stopped,_"

Yang skidded to a stop beside them as Ruby's befuddled face emerged from the dusty pile of snow, laughing hysterically, "Oh god, that was totally worth it!"

Cold fury bubbled up inside Weiss as she ripped the cursed runners off of her feet. She wanted to rage, to shout, to let the insufferable blonde _bimbo-!_ But then she decided to take a page from Father instead.

"I should certainly hope so, Yang…" The heiress said in a measured voice, stone-faced, and twisting her wrist at her side.

"You can go ahead and take those off now," Yang continued to chortle, oblivious to the slight glow emerging from the snow at her feet, "No hard feelings, rig-?"

Yang was sent hurtling skyward as the power erupted from the heiress's semblance, "None at all,"

"Um… Weiss?" Ruby shrank into the snow from which she'd yet to emerged, "I-, I promise it wasn't my idea-, you heard me-, I mean, I told her to stop-!"

Weiss sighed, "I know Ruby, but your sister…" Weiss paused for effect as Yang landed headfirst into a snowbank, "needed a lesson…"

Ruby swallowed, nodding tentatively, not sure what the right answer was.

"Now then," Weiss continued, extending a hand to help her partner up, "Shall we proceed?"

"Yeah," Ruby accepted her partner's hand, nodding more enthusiastically, "I'm just… I'm just glad that you're okay…"

"Of course I am!" An indignant tone crept into Weiss's voice as she pulled Ruby to her feet, "It'll take more than one of your sister's stupid, _stupid _pranks to-,"

A snowball smashed into the heiress's face.

"Excuse me for a moment Ruby; it seems that additional… _reinforcement… _is necessary if Yang is to learn the error of her ways…"

* * *

Weiss slipped down into the steaming hot water with a comforted sigh. It had been a good week-, well, except for that episode on the ski slope on Saturday. Other than Yang's rather particular ideas about skiing, the week had been passed with good food, warm, comfortable beds, and most importantly, time with friends. There had been a great deal of skiing, games, hours in the lodge's spa, and Weiss had even been persuaded to allow a few of Yang's games, albeit with the strict understanding that none of it would leave the Imperial Suite. It hadn't gotten so bad though Yang seemed to have learned to behave herself after their little… _episode… _on the ski slope. Weiss had been mildly disappointed that there hadn't been another snowball fight… she was good at those… _perhaps too good… _

"Wow!" Nora exclaimed, awed, "Is there anything this place doesn't have?"

Weiss shrugged, "The place was actually built around these hot springs, but Father decided that it would be worth the investment to add the ski slopes,"

"Again," Pyrrha offered, dipping into the spring herself, "We can't thank you enough for having us along,"

"_We?_" Yang asked knowingly as she stretched out in the hot bath off to the left and Pyrrha blushed furiously, "Do share the details Pyrrha, we'd-,"

Weiss shot the blonde a withering look, "Yang, you are on such thin ice right now that it's not even funny; behave yourself!"

"Hehe…" Yang was suddenly very conscious of the fact that this was an open-air bath surrounded by snow, "Right…"

The heiress allowed herself a little satisfaction as she let herself sink up to the neck into the pleasantly hot water; the persistent cold made the warmth in and about the spring all the more alluring, "At any rate, Pyrrha, I'm just happy that you could all come; there's only so much I could've done to occupy myself here for a week,"

Nora's excitement gave way to a pout now, "I just wish Ren could come…"

"There _is _the men's bath further down the hill," Blake shrugged, for once without a book.

"Well, we could always…"

Weiss shot the blonde another glare.

"Never mind…"

"It's just… weird… ya know? Bathing… in front of people…" Ruby nervously chuckled sinking to the point where only her face above the nose remained above the water, "It's kind of embarrassing…"

Privately, Weiss had to agree, but she just said, "You don't wear swimsuits into a hot spring, and last I checked, nobody brought one anyway,"

* * *

"Jaune?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow at the sight of his leader's rubber-ducky pattern trunks, "What are _those?"_

"I didn't have time to buy new ones, okay!"

* * *

"Well, yeah… but…"

"Ah relax sis! We're all girls here!"

"…But…"

"What? Too much hotness for ya sis?" Yang teased.

Weiss wasn't the only one to roll her eyes as Ruby protested, "Stop it Yang!"

"Calm down, calm down," Yang put up her hands in a mock defensive gesture, "Not everyone can be so… blessed… as me an Pyrrha, but we've all got our special qualities…"

Weiss chewed her lip, _That again… _

"For example!" Yang sprang to her feet, momentarily struggling not to fall back down as she put her weight on a slippery stone, "Nora! You're whole buckets of fun! And besides, guys love redheads!"

Nora squealed giddily, "Ooooh yay!"

Pyrrha blushed again, as Yang shot her a wink before moving on to her own partner, "And you!"

"Huh?" Blake's eyes widened, startled.

"Lots of people love the cat ears…"

Blake eyes widened at the sight of Yang's suggestive look, hands reaching up to cover the ears, "Shut up!"

Much as Yang's antics annoyed her, Weiss couldn't help but chuckle a bit, even as she felt herself tense up at the anticipation of her own number coming up. Surprisingly though, it wasn't Yang who pulled it.

"Well… Weiss has pretty skin… and her hair is shiny…"

All heads turned to Ruby, a mixture of agreeable nods and raised eyebrows bedecking the various expressions, not the least surprised being Weiss herself, "Um… thank you Ruby…"

"…It's true…"

It was certainly true that the heiress put a great deal of work into her appearance; she was a Schnee after all, it was her duty to be her best, and that included her looks. Still, it had always been more of an unacknowledged chore than anything else, and no one had ever actually commented upon it; it was just expected, and Weiss had gotten used to any of her efforts to present herself well being undermined by the scar on her face.

"I… Thank you Ruby… I don't know what to say…"

The young team leader sank back into the hot water, awkwardly blowing bubbles and trying not to be seen.

Yang examined the heiress more closely, then nodded, "Ya know, I hate to admit it, but sis might be onto something there…"

Weiss reddened, "Well of _course _I'm pretty! It have an image to uphold!"

"Hmm…" Yang wasn't convinced, "Musta been the attitude problem that kept me from noticing…."

"How dare you?" Weiss demanded, springing to her own feet at the implied challenge.

"Whoa there! It was a joke!" Yang insisted, not keen on being launched naked into the snow, "Look! You startled poor Ruby so much that she's drowning!"

Ruby coughed, "No-! No I'm," she spat out the water that was slurring her speech, "I'm okay!"

Relief poured over everyone and Yang and Weiss took their seats again, "I suppose Ruby will just have to make do on awkward charm and natural adorability," Weiss commented offhandedly, allowing herself to get in on Yang's joke for once.

"Is that a nosebleed, Ruby?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um… it's the cold! I always get them in winter!"

"I know right?" Nora nodded her appreciation of Ruby's explanation, "I used to have the same problem!"

"Yeah…"


	14. The Train Job

**Author's Note: Hello all, so, back in the swing of thing (the characters, that is) because their winter break is officially over (within the context of this story, that is). I do hope those of you for whom the same cannot be said are or will enjoy your time off, as well as this chapter. Please, let me know what you think !**

The Schnee Company freight train came to a halt at the station that served the Forever Fall quarry. Vacation had been nice, but it was now the second semester, and as though to parallel the initiation to which they'd been subjected at the start of the previous semester, Professor Ozpin had determined that this semester should begin with a field assignment. In doling out said assignments the Headmaster had once again demonstrated his… _poetic _decision-making style.

_Yes… Poetic is the polite term…_

Team RWBY's field assignment was to guard the freight train along its circuit from Vaile city to the Schnee quarry on the far edge of Forever Fall and back. The first leg of that journey had gone off without a hitch, but that was to be expected; it only carried spare parts and foodstuffs _to _the quarry by way of a routine resupply trip. It was the trip _back _that made Weiss apprehensive. Thirty train cars full of Dust would be a tempting target for Torchwick, the White Fang, or God only knows who else, to say nothing of the hordes of Grimm that inhabited the forest. While it had been a relief that not so much as a Beowulf had assailed the train on the way out, that just made the Heiress even more nervous.

_You can relax when the work is done, not before. _

Weiss shook her head as she disembarked from the train behind her teammates, Not_ the time Weiss; this is an opportunity to show him what you're worth. _

"I've never been to a Dust mine…" Ruby spoke, wide-eyed as she took in the sights and the train crew set about their various tasks, "Does it really just stick up out of the ground?"

"Some of the larger crystals do," Weiss confirmed absently, "but shafts have to be dug in order to get at the vast majority-,"

Weiss's eyes widened as an unpleasant realization dawned on her, and she reached out to grab Blake's shoulder, letting Ruby and Yang go off ahead on their own.

"What is it Weiss?" Her Faunus teammate turned back, momentarily perplexed until she saw that Weiss wouldn't look directly at her, "I… I see…"

"For what little it's worth," Weiss sighed, speaking just above a whisper, "I won't pretend that Father pays the workers fairly, but none of them are slaves either. I know that doesn't make it right but-,"

Blake sighed before cutting in, "I'm not going to cause trouble, Weiss, I promise,"

Weiss swallowed, "Then let me make you a promise too; I'll set this right when I inherit the company, alright? For now though, I'm sorry, but I can't fix it; the foremen and management work for my Father, not me,"

Blake nodded, "That's… but what about…"

"I've lost family to the White Fang, yes," Weiss nodded with a grimace, "But it's… It's not fair of me to blame all Faunus for that… It's not fair that Father does either… I won't promise that I'll never be judgmental again, Blake-, I'm not perfect, but… I'm trying to be better…"

"Well then, for whatever it's worth to you," Blake sighed, "I'm sorry too; I was just as quick to rush to judgment…"

Weiss accepted the unexpected apology wordlessly, feeling as though a weight was lifted from her shoulders, "All… all is forgiven…"

"It's mutual; now, we've got a job to do," Blake returned the sentiment.

"Right,"

New understanding with Blake or no, the quarry was a bleak, if efficient place. Despite the brisk weather, most of the workers toiled stripped to the waist and dripping with sweat. Crews carefully carted hewn crystals of numerous colors, individual workers lugging insulated canisters filled with Dust powder to the train, and sounds of hammering and heavy machinery issued from the various mineshafts. Most of the laborers were Faunus, if not quite all; perhaps the most curiously heartening display was over by the mess hall where a human and a lizard Faunus sat together at a bench eating their lunches and laughing at some crude joke.

_Funny… _Weiss thought, _How people can just get along as individuals… so why can't we just be better to each other collectively?_

"It's… not as interesting as I thought..."

"I think when they're working with Dust… it's probably better to limit the excitement…" Yang shrugged.

Weiss glanced up at the sight on the side of the building that housed the foreman's office, "Indeed, and it would seem the staff agrees; apparently the last accident was six months ago,"

"Well, they got me beat," Ruby shrugged, recollecting how she and Weiss had met.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "It is extremely important that the workers are careful and the equipment is kept in exemplary shape in order to prevent horrible accidents; earning a nickname like 'Crater-Face' is the least of one's worries here,"

"Hehe… I was kina hoping you'd forgotten that…"

"No, I most certainly have not," Weiss shook her head, "At any rate, Father makes a point to personally inspect every Schnee mine at least once a year to ensure that everything works as it should. He puts more work into ensuring that the company runs smoothly than…" Weiss trailed off, "Never mind, that isn't important…"

A pitying look asserted itself on Ruby's face as conversation died, and there would have been silence but for the operational noise of the mine. Yang wasn't going to touch that subject with a ten foot pole; the last time she had, she'd nearly destroyed their friendship, and Blake of all people knew to leave well enough alone, already having a fair picture of Weiss's family life by this point. It was left to Ruby to break the silence with a hug.

"It's alright Weiss-,"

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Giving you a hug… You seemed down…"

"I'm fine Ruby," Weiss assured her, trying to extricate herself; she couldn't conjure any real anger, even setting aside that she had to remain professional in the presence of employees of Father's company, "You don't have to worry about me Ruby; besides, we have a mission, so I can't mope, can I?"

Ruby nodded reluctantly and let Weiss go, then forced a smile to change the subject, "Can we have a tour?"

Weiss had to shake her head and disappoint her, "Sorry; unless you care to work for the Schnee Dust Company, I'm not allowed to expose trade secrets," she said it in a tone that suggested the bored quotation of a legal document, "And besides," she gestured back to the line of workers carting barrels, crates, and canisters onto the train, "There isn't time; you'd be surprised how quickly the crews can load the trains,"

_Efficiency, Weiss, that is the virtue which a Schnee must live by._

Yang raised an eyebrow, "Thirty cars though? We should be here at least-,"

"Miss Schnee!" It was the conductor, "We should be ready to leave in twenty minutes,"

"Damn…"

Weiss initially nodded in acknowledgement, but then shook her head instead, "I'm not in charge here sir," she gestured at an awed and grateful Ruby, "She's the leader of Team RWBY,"

"Miss?"

"I'm not here on Father's business, this is a Beacon assignment. Therefore, you should deal directly with the team leader,"

The conductor looked dubiously over the enthusiastically bouncing fifteen-year-old in red, plainly not believing it, "And you are?"

She did an eager salute, "Ruby Rose! Huntress in training and leader of Team-,"

"Yes well, twenty minutes,"

Ruby pouted and stuck her tongue out at the man's back as he walked back to the train, "Jerk,"

Weiss sighed pulling out her scroll and making a not to pass along a critique of the man's attitude to human resources, "Don't let it bother you too much Ruby, he'll be dealt with,"

"Huh?"

"Never mind,"

* * *

About an hour later, Team RWBY was positioned atop the train keeping vigil as the cars rolled through the red-gold foliage of Forever Fall. The train was not without the standard compliment of defensive automatons that Father, and Grandfather before him had insisted upon, but they would not activate until unauthorized access was gained to the _interior _of one of the cars, and recent railway heists had proven that to not necessarily be enough, thus, Ozpin was able to convince Father and the board to allow Beacon students to reinforce the defenses of his trains as opportunities for practical training, though against Grimm or highwaymen, it remained to be seen.

This question was answered as the train ran along a curved section of track on a hillside and a white blur caught the corner of Weiss's eye.

_Train robbers it is…_

As Weiss drew Myrtenaster, she saw that Blake was already taking a fighting stance, having seen the attacker first, "What are we dealing with?"

"White Fang," Blake said through clenched teeth.

Indeed there they were, a dozen of them, two cars further down toward the rear of the train. Some had guns, others swords, or guns that were also swords, but all wore the same hooded uniform with identical masks and the red emblem emblazoned on their jackets.

"You don't have to-,"

Blake shook her head, "No, I do… Our mission is to protect this train and… theft is theft, no matter who you're stealing from,"

Weiss nodded, moving the two fingers of her right hand to activate the earpiece communicator that Ozpin had provided so they could stay in touch while separated along the length of the train, "Ruby, Yang, It's Weiss, we've got the White Fang on top of car twenty-six!"

The earpiece crackled with static before Yang's voice came through, "Got it! On my way!"

"I'm coming!"

Weiss nodded, taking her finger off of the transmit button, "Right, ready Blake?"

She nodded, and with that the two of them sprang into action.

_I know why you're doing this, and I think I understand your perspective now, _Weiss though, as though in conversation as she surged forward on a glyph, striking one of the assailants and sending him tumbling backward, sewing disarray amongst his accomplices, _But Mother was wrong then and you're wrong now; I couldn't stop her, but I'm not letting you get away with this! _

Before any of them could react though, Blake blindsided three of them with a flurry of blows from the Gambol Shroud. Weiss then did her one better by setting Myrtenaster to the light blue setting and proceeding to fire four ice-Dust based projectiles, knocking as many of the attackers over the side of the train. The remaining assailants split their focus between the two defenders, though they met with no greater degree of success, on the one hand having their footing taken out from under them by the Gambol shroud's ribbon and frozen onto their backs on the other.

Weiss activate the transmit function again, "Weiss here, we've dealt with-,"

"Weiss!" Blake shouted, eyes wide as she looked past the heiress.

Weiss only just slid out of the way on her glyph as a masked man with red hair slammed onto the roof of the car, his sword plunged into the roof for stability upon landing. He was swiftly followed by more White Fang rank-and-file. As he stood, he sheathed the sword, but her maintained a fighting stance and remained poise to draw once more. He had a confident, one might say arrogant bearing, and despite the mask, Weiss could almost _see _the smug look on his face.

"Switched sides on us Blake?"

Weiss's teammate cringed, "You're not getting away with this, Adam,"

_Adam? She knew this guy?_

Weiss positioned herself for another attack, "This is your only warning: leave this train in peace and we'll let you go!"

The masked ringleader laughed as his men fanned out, "Yeah? Well good luck with that!"

"Weiss? Weiss! Are you okay? Hang in there!" it was Ruby's voice coming across her headset.

The Schnee heiress hadn't time to offer a response as she parried a half-dozen sword strokes from as many hooded goons, _Too many…_

She caught the next wave of blows with a shield glyph, then, coasting backward, sent three more of the White Fang tumbling down the hillside beside the track as the glyph rapidly brightened, _Better… _

Blake was holding Adam back, catching his blade mere inches from her face with the Gambol Shroud's sheath, unable to address the thugs positioning themselves behind her. Weiss moved to freeze them where they stood, but to her surprise, the leader, with his free hand pointed his empty scabbard back at her and fired. The first impact stung something awful, and Weiss didn't stick around to catch the second; she darted to the side, firing of a quick salvo of frigid Dust and encasing two henchmen before she came to a halt at the edge of the train cart. Before the mysterious Adam could aim for another shot, there was a rush of red, and a succession of heavy discharges, sending the masked attacker reeling, finally freeing Blake to turn and strike out at two of Adam's goons behind her.

"Excellent timing Ruby," Weiss complimented gratefully, taking the momentary reprieve to catch her breath even as her heart sank at the sight of yet more White Fang highwaymen, "It definitely looks like we'll need your help with-,"

"Hey guys?" Yang's voice sounded in all of their ears, "I think I'm gonna be a bit late..." There was the noise of a discharging shotgun shell both over the communication device and from further up toward the front of the train, "NOBODY TOUCHES THE HAIR!"

Glancing back in Yang's direction, Weiss saw that, four cars away, Yang was beset by a dozen attackers all by herself. She didn't seem to be in trouble though; one after another they stumbled back and occasionally fell off the train as the met with the fire and the brawler's angry fist.

"That's gotta be some kind of record," Ruby commented absently, "It usually takes longer than that for somebody to screw up like that and touch her hair…"

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted, launching a fireball into an oncoming group of attackers, "This isn't a practice match! You have to pay attention!"

Weiss readied to parry the nearest of the attackers to have dodged the fireball, but Ruby first fully deployed the Crescent rose, dashing in to knock them down with a quick series of successive strokes.

"I've got your back partner!"

"It would be nicer to know that you've got a plan!" Weiss shouted as she launched herself forward to attack the ringleader and relieve Blake once more.

The man caught Myrtenaster with his sheath however, and springing backward, positioned himself such that he had a good view of both Weiss and Blake while his remaining henchmen charged in to assist him. One by one though, the half-dozen remaining goons toppled backward upon receiving a round from the Crescent Rose to the stomach, their lives spared only by their auras.

Secure in the knowledge that their leader had the task of dealing with the rank-and-file, Blake and Weiss sprang forward to confront Adam once more, Weiss threw up a barrier glyph to catch the rounds from Adam's rifle-sheath as they closed the distance, dropping it in time for Blake to launch into a hurricane of swift strokes, both with her sword and with the honed sheath. Adam blocked the stokes with his katana with startling rapidity, and at the first opening her hefted the sheath, balanced it on his blade and fired it into a startled Blake, who stumbled backward, and Weiss sprang in to pick up the slack..

_This is real Weiss… He'll kill you if you lose…_

She thrust with Myrtenaster and was parried, she attempted to slash and was blocked, the masked man raised his rifle sheath to her face and she barely dodged with a pirouette, throwing in a series of ascending strokes for good measure, but these too were blocked.

_Damn he's good…My training isn't working… _

The scabbard-gun was leveled at her head again.

Weiss gritted her teeth, _No! I refuse to lose! Time for a Ruby move!_

She plunged Myrtenaster into the barrel of her opponent's gun, twisting her chamber to the red setting and discharging the full payload of the chamber, "Block this!"

Weiss got a sense of satisfaction at the unfounded certainty that this Adam's eyes widened behind the eye slits of his mask just before the Dust reacted, sending both of them careening backwards. She didn't bother to even glance at her scroll; there wasn't time for that now, and she didn't need a reading to know that her little stunt had done her personally as much harm as good. Fortunately, Blake had recovered herself by this point, exploiting the massive opening that Weiss had generated.

Her ears were ringing, and agony shot down her arm. Weiss had landed on it, and it might've been dislocated, she couldn't be sure. She cringed as she struggled first to her knees, then back to her feet, vision blurred as she tried to focus and determine which Blake and Adam were the real ones. She used Myrtenaster to steady herself, fumbling with the chamber to something, _anything_ but the empty red chamber. It was just when Adam managed to knock Blake off balance again that Weiss secured her own footing Weiss raised Myrtenaster in her left hand, letting her right arm simply hang at her side; it was too painful to move. Her strokes were weak though, and even in his own reduced state, Adam had little difficulty blocking her attempted strikes, knocking her sword arm aside and countering with a swift stroke of his own to her ribcage.

Weiss doubled over, hand moving instinctively to the site of the impact, _No blood… You're-, you're still in this!_

"Weiss! No!" Ruby screamed, firing off two, three, four rounds into her partner's opponent in reckless disregard for the unsteadiness of her aim.

_Broken ribs… _Weiss thought, _At least two… No! He's open again! _

With a weak twist of the wrist she summoned a glyph beneath her opponent, and then hastily conjured another under her own feet to launch her skyward to avoid another slash. With barely more control over herself than a ragdoll, Weiss detonated the rune at Adam's feet springing him into the air as well, albeit not so high as Weiss herself. Pouring the last of her strength into it, Weiss created one more glyph at her back, and used it to launch herself at Adam as the two began to sink back toward the roof of the train, striking him with the force of all the might left to her, slamming her target back to roof of the car, just barely managing to land on her hands and knees beside him as he lay limp, his sword rolling away from his hand.

"Oh my God, Weiss are you-?"

Ignoring Ruby, Weiss weakly hefted Myrtenaster to aim for her vanquished foe once more, _Father would…want…_

"Weiss no!" Blake seemed to materialize as Weiss's vision darkened and her eyes glazed over, "He's beaten, that's not-, Weiss? Weiss!"

Weiss Schnee collapsed. It was all too much…

_I can… Later… _

And then all was black.


	15. I'm Sorry

**Author's note: Okay, so this one's a touch on the short side, but I felt that the story would be better by breaking what I had originally written as all one chapter into to so as to mitigate the tonal shift. To make up for this you'll note that I've posted both chapters at once; I just felt that having the concrete chapter break helped the chapters feel more internally consistent. Anyway, enough about that, please enjoy!**

"Weiss… Please be alright…"

Ruby swallowed her fears, fiddling with the little bouquet of white flowers as she sat beside her sleeping partner's hospital bead. The heart monitor had shown that Weiss's heart rate was steady for the last two and a half days, but no matter how long Ruby sat there, no matter how much sleep she lost, Weiss had yet to wake up in the three days since the mission. The first night, Yang and Blake had persuaded her to go back to the dorm and rest; her pestering the doctors wasn't going to help them treat Weiss, but when there was nothing left but waiting to be done, Ruby found that she couldn't focus in class, and had instead gone to the hospital, stopping only to buy the flowers.

"Ruby…" Yang was the one presently sharing the vigil, "You haven't eaten…"

"I'm not hungry,"

"The doctors treated her ribs and shoulder; she just needs rest because she over-extended herself; you're not gonna do her any good if you-,"

"She's my partner, Yang!" Ruby snapped, instantly regretting it, "I… should have been able to… I don't think I could live with myself if…"

"The doctor's said she'll be fine," Yang hastened to cut off that dangerous line of thought, "She's not going to die,"

"Then why won't she wake up?" Ruby fought to choke back the tears.

"She just needs time," Yang assured her distraught sister, speaking with more confidence than she felt, "Just… promise me you'll eat something…"

Ruby set the flowers down, "O-okay…"

Yang nodded, "Good; you can wait here while I get you something, alright?"

Ruby nodded wordlessly, her gaze affixed upon Weiss's steadily rising and falling chest.

Yang sighed, "I'll be right back,"

And then Ruby was alone again, just her and Weiss, an unassailable barrier of unconsciousness hanging heavy between them.

"I'm sorry…" she lamented afresh, "I let you down…"

She sniffled.  
"You were awesome though… you really showed those robbers-, and the way you took down their boss…" Ruby's head rose in involuntary excitement as she recalled what she'd seen of the event, only to sink once more as her eyes fell upon Weiss's tranquil face, eyes still shut, "And what did _I do? _I just let you take it!" she raged at herself, "Blake was at your side, why wasn't I?" she swallowed, "You were wrong about me… I wasn't there when it mattered…"

Her partner remained still in her slumber, appearing as a porcelain doll but for the slow repetition of her breathing.

"I… I don't want to lose you…"

Nothing.

"I promise that you'll never have to… Well, what I mean is that… I'll be there next time… so please…" She wiped the desperate tears from her face with her sleeve, "Wake up…"

As the silence persisted, Ruby felt a tightening pain in her chest. Grimm, criminals, she could deal with those; fighting was so easy, and her studies, well, those ere harder, but still, she could overcome that with enough work, but this…

_What am I supposed to do?_

This wasn't just another challenge that she could overcome though; no matter what she promised to herself or her unconscious partner, none of it mattered, it couldn't help Weiss _now. _She could pledge to be better, to be more careful, more studious, less hyper, but no matter how she promised or begged, it didn't seem to matter.

"Would if help if I told you I-,"

"Pardon, Miss Rose, was it?" It was the nurse assigned to Weiss's room.

Ruby swallowed her words and looked up to her partner's caretaker, "Um, Yes?"

The nurse nodded approvingly, as though simply confirming a note that she'd made to herself, "Miss Schnee's Beacon file lists you as her partner, this is true, yes?"

Ruby nodded.  
"Good; such being the case, unless she wakes or her legal guardian turns up, we'll need you to approve anyone that wishes to see her, as she is not presently in a position to do so…" The nurse trailed, off, a look of concern tugging at her creatures as Ruby nodded in response to the procedural details, but stared at the floor, "Miss Rose…"

Ruby shook herself, "I'm-, I'm fine; I can do that,"

The nurse nodded again, sympathy coloring her expression as she continued, "There's a family of three who'd like to see her; if you wouldn't mind coming to meet them at the ward's main desk,"

Ruby nodded, forcing herself to stand, "Alight,"


	16. Recovery

"Yang! Call Blake and-!"

The rest of Ruby's frantic instructions were too hazy to make out.

"Yeah, I'll call Jaune and his team too!"

_What's going on?_

"Why hasn't she opened her eyes yet though?"

_Give me a break Ruby… five more minutes… _

"Weiss! Weiss! Come on, wake up!"

She was dimly aware that someone she didn't know was trying to calm Ruby down, but….

_Three more minutes at least?_

"Oh, and Yang, tell the desk to call-,"

_Call? Call who? I'm just waking up… It's really not a big deal…_

The light gave her an instant headache as her eyes fluttered open… or perhaps that was from…

Weiss jolted as recollection came rushing back to her all at once, the train, the White Fang, Adam-, "Where-? Did we-?"

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, instantly springing on her with a hug.

Weiss cringed as Ruby squeezed, "Ruby-,' she said between gasping breaths, "my ribs!"

"OhmygoshIamsosorry!" and like that Ruby was back in her seat, curled up in her chair as though trying to shrink, cowering behind a bouquet of white…_ Roses? _

After a few more heaving breaths and sufficient time for the pain to subside such that she was capable of an expression beyond a pained wince, "It's… It's fine, just… be mindful next time…"

_Definitely awake now…_

"Did we complete the mission?" Weiss asked, feeling twinges of pain left over from the blows she'd sustained atop car twenty-six, "The train arrived safe?"  
Ruby nodded eagerly, "Yep! And the police have that masked jerk! You did a great job!" she hesitated a moment, "And I… got you these…" She presented the flowers, "you know… as a get-well gift…"

Slightly confused, Weiss accepted the flowers, "Thank you… but flowers weren't really necessary…" then she noted that the flowers were starting to wilt.

_How long has she…_

"How long was I…"

Ruby fell quiet, "You took a beating… I'm sorry that I-,"

"How long?"

"Four days," Ruby complied, chewing her lip, "The doctors finished by the first day, but you just wouldn't…"

Weiss stared down at the flowers, _Was she here the whole time? _

"It's such a relief that you're up though-, I was kinda scared that you might not for a while," Ruby admitted, nervously twiddling her thumbs, "I'm just glad you're alright-, it was such a relief when the doctor said that you'd be waking up soon..."

Weiss stared disbelievingly at her hands, "I can hardly believe that I survived that… And we really _won?_"

"_You beat him!_" Ruby nodded eyes aglow, "You were like, stab-, and BOOM! And then you-!"

"Yes Ruby, I think I'll be feeling it for a while…" She interjected, wincing as she stretched out her right arm experimentally.

Ruby was oddly quiet again.

"Ruby?"

"It's nothing," the younger girl shook her head, though she was unable to disguise her solemn expression, "I'm just glad you're fine,"

"Indeed, Miss Rose," It was the nurse, startling Weiss with the suddenness with which she spoke from the opposite side of her hospital bed, "Now that Miss Schnee is awake, though, we need to conduct some routine tests and examinations,"

"Examinations?"

"Yes, Miss Rose, so if you'd kindly show yourself out…"

"Oh…"

"Get out you dunce!"

* * *

"I'm sorry Weiss! You know I'm a bit… thick…"

"Well I'm glad _you said it,_" Weiss retorted bitterly before taking another bite of her salad, "But you should know better than to need an engraved invitation to show yourself out when they need to do a physical exam!"

"Aww! Somebody's shy-!"

"Shut up Yang!"

"Touchy too…" Yang mocked, "I guess she really is fine,"

Weiss calmed herself, turning to Blake, "What about you? I hope it wasn't…" she caught herself before she accidentally exposed her teammate's secret.

Blake just shrugged, looking up from her book, "I had a few bruises, nothing so bad as you got though,"

"I meant-,"

"Theft is theft, right?"

Weiss nodded with a sigh, "Right…"

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next!" It was Nora, bouncing in her seat as always; she was seated nearest of the members of Team JNPR, "Ruby told us all about it! It sounds like you were AWESOME!"

"Hmm…" Weiss shot Ruby a look, "Is that so?"

Pyrrha nodded her agreement, "Very impressive improvisation, the way she told it,"

It was Weiss's turn to shrug, "I just can't wait until they let me out of here; it's nice to have you all visit me but-,"

Ruby blanched, her hand flying to cover her mouth as a massively apologetic look supplanted her previous expression, "I am sooo sorry! I totally forgot! There were some people that wanted to see you yesterday, but I didn't recognize any of them, so I said that they should come back after you woke up, and that I'd have the desk let them know and-,"

"Calm down Ruby!" Weiss ordered in exasperation, "Now, what were their names?"

* * *

_I should have figured that it wouldn't be Father… _

Weiss had asked for some privacy after Ruby had recounted the names… three of them…

Ruby seemed hurt, but she eventually obeyed, and the rest readily obliged her-, well, Nora had needed some coaxing, but now she was alone, waiting for the new guests to arrive.

_But this is almost worse than him not coming…_

"Miss Schnee," It was the Nurse, "Your guests have arrived,"

Weiss swallowed, "Let-," she gritted her teeth, "The man stays outside,"

The nurse looked puzzled, "Are you sure?"

Weiss nodded.

With a nod in return to indicate her acknowledgement, "Very well,"

Moments later, a fair-haired woman carrying a toddler with similarly flaxen hair entered the room.

_Mother…. _

Her mother set the confused child down where Ruby had been sitting, "Princess! I'm so glad you're-,"

"Don't call me that,"

The woman was momentarily puzzled, but eventually nodded with a sigh, "Very well… I'm just glad that you're alright…"

"You're not the first,"

"Mommy, who's that lady?" It was the little girl in the chair, playing with her golden ponytail absently.

_So that's it then. _

"Mommy?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

Her mother looked away, "Her name is Corolla,"

The little girl sprang up eagerly, "Yup! That's me!"

"She's cute… Corolla… Madchen, was it?"

Little Corolla's eyes went wide, "Whoa lady, how'd you know that?"

Weiss's mother just winced, "Yes…"

Weiss reached over into the gift basket that Team JNPR had brought her, fishing out a piece of candy, "Here, do you like chocolate, Corolla?"

_It isn't her fault…_

The little girl's eyes glowed all the brighter, nodding vigorously and snapping up the candy wordlessly.

"Halden wanted to thank you personally for your part in capturing that White Fang ringleader, but the nurse-,"

"I told her not to let him in," Weiss interjected, "I don't want to see him mother, you should have known better; I can forgive _you, _mother, but don't ask me to forgive _him,_"

_Stop it Weiss! Being bitter doesn't fix anything…_

Mother looked genuinely guilty, "I understand,"

"It's good to see you though," Weiss allowed and gestured toward Corolla, "Might've been nice to know a few things in advance though,"

"I tried to write dear, I did," her mother assured imploringly, "but anything I sent to the castle came back rejected, and your Father wouldn't tell me anything about your whereabouts since…"

"You don't have to say it, I know,"

She seemed relieved, "I wouldn't have known at all if it weren't for-,"

"I'm not going to thank him, Mother," Weiss's voice chilled, "The bastard can keep his appreciative handshake,"

Her mother glanced at Corolla, mortified, though the child was utterly absorbed in her chocolate bar, "Weiss!"

_You shouldn't have said that… It's true but… Corolla doesn't deserve that… _she clenched a fist and squeezed as tight as she could to blow off some steam, _and the worst part: you weren't even angry, it was just cold hate like… _

"I'm..." she wasn't sorry, "The painkillers must be clouding my judgment," She wasn't on any.

Her mother sighed, "I know we hurt you dear, and I am sorry, but don't take it out on your-,"

Weiss shot her a withering glare, as if daring her mother to finish the sentence, "Last I checked, I was the sole child of the Schnee household,"

_Damn it Weiss! Get a grip!_

There was a long silence between them.

"Half-sister," Weiss eventually allowed, giving a little, "When's her birthday?"

Mother's eyes brightened a bit, "May first; am I to understand that-?"

"I'll send her a gift," Weiss shook her head, "She doesn't even know me, and I don't need any opportunities to meet _him,_"

"I… I understand," Her mother acknowledged again, looking deep into her eyes conveying a mixed sense of remorse and gratitude, "Has you father come to-,"

"No," Weiss looked away, "But it's a long way from Atlas, I wouldn't expect-,"

"That's no excuse!" she blurted, "One of the richest men in the world and he can't spare to time to visit his daughter in the hospital-!"

"Mother!" That seemed to startle Corolla enough to distract her from her chocolate bar, but her blank look conveyed a lack of comprehension as Weiss continued, massaging her temples to abate a mounting headache, "We're not having this argument,"

"Where did you get that scar?" Mother demanded, concern dominating her face now, clearly having ignored Weiss's dismissal of the prior issue, "So help me if he-,"

"Stop!" Weiss put her foot down, holding her bangs out of the way to clearly display the old injury, "This was a training accident, nothing more."

"Weiss, I just-,"

"No! I'm not finished!" Weiss cut her off, to angry now to hold it in, "It was hard to grow up with Father, but you don't get to criticize–, not anymore; you gave that up on my fourteenth birthday!"

Her mother's face bore simple sadness now, but surprisingly little hurt, "You still really love him, don't you?"

"Of course!" Weiss stared down on her knees, "I just hope he still loves _me…" _

"You're a stronger woman than I, Weiss," Mother surprised daughter with a sudden warm embrace, "Your dedication is truly special, but Weiss, don't let your life get away from you because of it; I saw your friends outside, and they all seem like wonderful people. Let them help you, okay? I still love you dear, and I don't want you to have to suffer like this alone,"

Weiss finally returned the embrace, tearing up, "Okay Mom,"

**Author's Note: Alright, so I'm gonna level with you all and admit that I've kind of wanted to bring Weiss's mother in for at least a cameo somewhere, and I figured this was a good a time as any. That said, this was originally going to be a chance encounter in the city, but I settled on this instead. I hope you enjoyed it, and please, let me know what you think either way. **


	17. Confession

"I'm alright Ruby, the doctors said that I was fully recovered before they discharged me," Weiss assured her fretful, uncharacteristically clingy partner, "I don't need you to protect me from my own shadow,"

"I know but…" Ruby chewed her lip apprehensive about any course of action that took Weiss out of arm's reach, "I don't want to let you get hurt again because _I wasn't' paying attention…_"

Weiss halted in her progress out of the locker room, "What are you talking about, Ruby? It was a mission, injuries happen,"

_And besides, a few broken ribs are a small price to pay to see Mom again…_

"Besides," Weiss continued aloud, "Goodwitch's lessons are just that: _lessons. _She wasn't about to seriously injure anyone,"

"I know, I know…" Ruby admitted reluctantly, "but how can I lead a team if I can't keep the-, my partner safe?"

Weiss put a hand on her shoulder mustering her patience and sympathy, "Fine then; I promise you here and now that I'll be more careful, alright?"

Ruby looked up at her earnestly, "O-okay…"

"Good, now relax," _Oh the irony; I'm telling her to take it easy, _"You want to go get some coffee? There's this great little café-,"

Ruby's face instantly brightened, "With-?"

"Cream and five sugars? Of course,"

_Hopefully she'll get over this guilt complex if she has some sweets… _

"I've actually been meaning to bring the whole team to see this place; apparently Yang already knew about it, but I think Blake might enjoy it…" Weiss tried to make some small talk as they proceeded out into the hallway, but noticed that Ruby's mood seemed to droop again, "Ruby? Do you… not want to go?"

Ruby shook her head frantically, "No! I do! I just…" she paused, searching for her words, "… I actually think that Yang and Blake… kinda had plans…"

Weiss furrowed her brow, scrutinizing Ruby's nervous face, "This is the first I've-,"

"Yang told me this morning after you left for class,"

Weiss cocked her head, _Did they have a fight or something? It's odd that she'd want to avoid Yang, to say nothing of Blake…_

"We could still call them I guess… If you don't believe me…"

Weiss was a little hurt at the implication, though she was admittedly suspicious her fearless leader's transparently and uncharacteristically dodgy bearing, "No… I'll take your word for it… How about we go get that coffee?"

* * *

_Okay, something is definitely wrong… _Weiss thought, searching Ruby's face from across the table yet again as the cloaked girl fidgeted with her over-sweetened coffee and occasionally poked at the strawberry crepe, _Less than a hundred words in the last half hour…_

"Do you like it?" Weiss asked, trying anything to break the odd, seemingly baseless tension.

"Oh, uh… yeah, it's really good…" Ruby nodded, not looking up from her beverage, "But are you sure this is alright? Eighty Lien seems like a lot…"

"Nonsense," Weiss couldn't help a little smile, "Being the Schnee Heiress does have _some perks,_"

"Still, I feel bad that you had to pay for it,"

"It's nothing Ruby, really, don't worry about it,"

"Okay…"

"Ruby…" Weiss leaned in over the table, "What's wrong? Don't tell me that you're still beating yourself up over-,"

"I promise that's not it…" Ruby shook her head, then changed the subject, "So that woman that came to your room at the hospital, she was your mother?"

_Okay, she's definitely hiding something but… _She let out a sigh, _but then who am I to begrudge anyone for holding anything in?_

"Yes," Weiss nodded, letting the clunky change of subject slide, "I hope…Halden... didn't give you any trouble while you were all waiting outside…."

Ruby shook her head, seeming a bit more herself this time, visibly more comfortable talking about Weiss than herself, "He seemed a bit miffed when the nurse wouldn't let him in, but he didn't really talk to us…" She paused, "Some of the others guessed that they were an aunt and uncle of yours, but I didn't tell anyone who they were, I promise,"

_Promise huh? What is her deal today? She's rather eager to make promises today…_

"I appreciate your discretion Ruby, thank you," Weiss was grateful nonetheless, and forced a smile as she continued, "Whatever passed between us, It was good to have a chance to talk to Mother again,"

"The little girl?" Ruby asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"My little sister, apparently," Weiss fought to keep her expression even, but she knew that the conflict read plain on her face, _And why shouldn't it? This is Ruby I'm talking to, she understands…_

"She's cute…" Ruby obviously didn't know what the safest response was and was visibly relieved when Weiss chuckled.

"My thoughts exactly," she sipped her coffee, _I could get used to swapping tea for coffee… _"Naturally adorable…"

Ruby winced.

_What was that?_

"I appreciated the flowers; it was a sweet gesture," It was Weiss's turn to jumpstart the conversation with a jerky shift, "But frankly, it's the times like these that mean the most to me; I mean, just being able to talk to someone. You're a surprisingly good listener, and I can't thank you enough for that, Ruby, believe me,"

Ruby blushed, shrugging as she prodded the half-eaten confection on her plate again, "I guess it's just part of my awkward charm…"

_What am I missing here? She's definitely off…_

"Ruby," Weiss set down her coffee and tried to speak in as level a tone as possible, "I can tell that _something _is wrong; you don't _have to _tell me if you don't want to, but at the very least _I owe it to you _to be here if you want to talk to someone,"

Ruby reddened, "You don't _owe _me anything…"

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Ruby ate a few more bites of her crepe and Weiss sipped her coffee. They weren't alone in the café, but seated as they were at a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, they might as well have been; no one tried to address them, or indeed seemed to notice them at all. It was this very lack of outside disturbance served to make the air between them all the tenser. Soon enough though, Ruby didn't have any more crepe with which to provide herself an excuse to avoid the subject, and so instead resorted to the dregs of her sugary coffee.

"Ruby?"

Ruby twiddled her thumbs, not making eye contact.

"I'm sorry; forget I asked-,"

"No, no, it's okay…"

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong then? I told you that I was going to be your best teammate, and I meant it…" Weiss trailed off for a moment, "And it's time I started living up to that pledge,"

Ruby shook her head, "You've already proven that… so many times… I mean, you work so hard, and you put your all into-,"

"Do you really think that?" Weiss cut in, cocking her head incredulously, "I don't know what to say…"

"You said the same thing in the hot spring…" Ruby chuckled, "And I meant that too; the practice match with Team JNPR, our exams, the mission-, you put in everything you had and-," her tone had been steadily rising as she listed off her evidence, but then her voice fell flat again as she thought of the way Weiss had collapsed on the train, "everything you had and more…"

"Ruby…" Weiss was nearly dumbfounded, "simply giving in was never an option; I don't think that I could live with myself if anything were to happen because I couldn't pick up the slack,"

"That's just it though!" Ruby had a pleading look on her face, "That's what bothers me most: there shouldn't have been _any slack _for you to pick up! That should have been _my responsibility!_"

"Ruby, calm down," this pattern of regret and self-loathing was all too familiar, and she made no effort to hide the concern on her features, "Do you remember our talk after that practice match?"

"Mmhmm," Ruby nodded tremulously.

"Well, you're having the same problem now…" Weiss sighed, "Hell, I can't help thinking like that, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let you _hate _yourself like that! No one could have asked anything more of you on that train Ruby, and I have no doubt that you _saved my life _when you intervened. You have _nothing _to be sorry for,"

"I… I don't know what to say…"

It was Weiss's turn to laugh now, "We do seem to be making a habit of this don't we, having heart-to-heats and losing our words?"

Ruby nodded, blinking back the few tears that had begun to well up, "It's... It's weird… If anybody told me when we met that…"

"I wouldn't have believed it either," Weiss nodded her agreement, after Ruby trailed off, not waiting for her to finish her sentence, "Although, you'd have had every right to think that, whereas I was just too stuck inside my own problems,"

"As long as we're being honest-,"

Weiss's scroll rang.

"Hold on a moment Ruby," the Heiress interrupted, pulling out the device, blind to the sudden widening of Ruby's silver eyes as her partner's hand involuntarily moved to her own scroll, set to silent, "Oh, hello Yang, how-,"

"Where are you? And is Ruby with you?" Yang demanded through the device.

Weiss blinked a few times, puzzled by the blonde's panicked voice, "We're at that café you sent Jaune and I to on my birthday-,'

"So she _is _with you?"

Weiss's brow furrowed, "Yes… What's wrong Yang?"

"Nothing now," Yang gave an audible sigh of relief, "It's just that _I _promised to take her out for some cookies or something to cheer her up this morning, but she never showed up… For cookies! Seriously, what did you bribe her with?"

Weiss shot Ruby a glance over her scroll, raising an eyebrow. Ruby said nothing.

"I didn't-, well, I offered to take the team out for coffee and crepes but she told me that…" She looked up at Ruby again, closing and silencing her scroll in disregard of Yang's abruptly silenced objections, "Ruby… what is this?"

Ruby stared into her lap, her face wholly obscured by her hanging red highlights, "I… I lied…"

"Well yes, I can see that, but why?"

"I wanted to… spend some time… just with you…"

Weiss sat perfectly still, pale azure eyes blinking occasionally as she tried to process what she was hearing, _She isn't saying what I think… Is she?_

"I… I kind of started having feelings… nothing creepy, I promise! But… that first time you opened up to me…"

_She is… isn't she?_

Weiss tried and utterly failed to swallow the lump in her throat, and so Ruby continued to ramble in a barely audible voice.

"I… I love you Weiss..."

_Then in the hot spring…_

Ruby looked up at her once more, "I was afraid to say it… I thought it would hurt our friendship but… I don't want to lie to you again…"

_And on the train… _

"And I was so scared that I hid it from Yang too…" The tears welled up in Ruby's eyes afresh, "_I've_ _never kept anything from Yang_,"

_What am I supposed to do Daddy? _

"I'm sorry to-," she hiccupped involuntarily and abruptly stood, failing to hide the tears streaming down her face, "You've already got so much weighing on you… I'm sorry to drop this on you too…"

It was only as Ruby made a break for the door, drawing stares from other patrons as she ran that Weiss finally regained the use of her voice and snapped herself out of her stupor, "Ruby wait!"

But she didn't, she just kept running.

**Author's Note: Okay, so admittedly I'm kind of tossing the dice on this one; on the one hand, I have certainly now moved into White Rose territory, but on the other… well… spoilers…. For now, suffice to say that I'm trying to play this card from a different angle than I have personally seen elsewhere. Perhaps what I'm shooting for in the next chapter or so has been done already, but I haven't seen what I'm thinking of yet, though admittedly I haven't read **_**every **_**White Rose fic on the site… just a lot of them…**

**At any rate, reviews and PMs are always welcome even if you just want to speculate as to where I'm going with this, though admittedly, any response I send prior to actually posting the chapters containing the events concerned will all be exercises in broad generalities because… well, spoilers… I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and will continue to enjoy those to come. **


	18. Words Can't Express

At first Weiss tried to run after Ruby, but the younger girl was just too fast. Realizing this, she then slowed to an almost stumbling pace, and continued to shamble home in a daze, not knowing what to think, or even really trusting herself to do so rationally.

_I don't get it…._

She boarded the airship, paying her fair on instinct, slumping against the side of the interior as she stared through the other oblivious passengers and waited for the craft to lift off and head for Beacon.

_Why?_

Much as she had boarded, the confused and conflicted Heiress disembarked at the Beacon platform, shuffling listlessly as she went.

_I should have seen…_

Beacon's gates slid by her unnoticed, and she passed the statue in the main courtyard, seeing it without being aware.

_The listening, the compliments, the flowers, watching over me in the hospital…_

Weiss took a seat on a bench situated in the shade of some trees along the path without thinking, for once giving no regard to her posture as she simply sat, doubled over, face in her hands.

_How could I be so stupid? _

She laughed bitterly at herself.

_What would have made you think it? No one's 'loved' you for a very long time…_

She shook her head, angry at herself for thinking that way.

_Being bitter won't solve anything… _

She sat up, leaning against the back of the bench, letting her head hang backwards.

_But what am I supposed to do? What do I say? Somebody tell me!_

On impulse, she unclasped the silver snowflake locket fastened around her neck, holding it up to her face and letting the fob chain hang limp. She opened it up and stared into the picture that Pyrrha had taken at her birthday party of her, Blake, Yang, and… Weiss felt a tear inexplicably roll down her cheek.

_She told me she loves me… so why does it hurt so much? _

"Weiss? Is that you?"

_Is that-, no…_

Blake sat down beside her on the bench, not too close. They just sat there for a while as Weiss tried and failed to get a grip on herself. She closed her fingers around the locket and let her hands drop down to her knees, taking a deep breath.

"Hey Blake… I'm sorry, you've kind of caught me at a bad time…"

"So I see," Blake nodded, "But I figured better me than Yang; she's a bit pissed at you right now…"

"So Ruby did go back to the dorm?"

Blake nodded again, letting slip a sigh, "In tears, but she wouldn't say anything… at least, not before I left to go find you…"

"I see…"

"What did you say to her Weiss?"

Weiss was silent, leaning forward again cradling her face in her hands once more, the locket pressed cold to her forehead.

"Weiss," Blake's voice took a more stern timbre, "I won't make you tell me, but Yang won't be so-,"

"I didn't say anything to her!" Weiss snapped at her teammate, but then she bit her tongue and regretfully returned her face to her hands, "I didn't… I swear…"

Blake was quiet. She and the Heiress had had a few new moments recently, and she knew better than to jump to conclusions about Weiss as she had when they'd first met. She wasn't sure how to approach this though; the only person that Weiss had ever _really _opened up to, even among their teammates was Ruby, and she was the one at issue here, and Blake was hesitant to draw her own conclusions now, lest she make things worse.

"_She_… she said…"

* * *

"Shhh It's okay little sis… You can talk to me, right?" Yang cooed, holding Ruby tight and stroking her hair lovingly as Ruby continued to sob into her chest, "Just let it out okay? Then you can tell me… I promise to listen, okay?"

_The damn Princess has a lot to answer for… _

Ruby just continued to sniffle for a few minutes before she had enough control to even attempt coherent speech, "I…" Ruby sniffled again, "I lied, Yang! I'm sorry, I lied! Well-, IgussIjustdidn'ttellyoubut… what's the difference?" She broke down into sobs again.

"Easy, Ruby, it's okay," Yang assured her sister despite the hysterics and her own puzzlement, "Whatever it is, I forgive you…"

"It's not okay!" Ruby insisted, clinging to Yang all the tighter as if her sister would abandon her forever if she let go, "I skipped out on you to go hang out with Weiss and I shut off my scroll so you couldn't call me and-!"

"That's all?" Yang embraced her all the tighter, relief flushing through her and much in evidence in her voice, "I was worried something might have happened to you sis; If you just wanted to hang out with your partner I would have understood-,"

"That's not it…" Ruby wiped the tears away with her sleeve, looking up at her sister with pleading eyes, "I… she wanted to bring the whole team along and I… told her you were busy... I lied…"

Yang's eyes widened as realization dawned on her and she pulled Ruby close again, patting her on the back as if she were a baby, "Oh sis… You've got it bad, don't you?"

Ruby sniffed, nodding meekly, "Mmhmm…"

* * *

"She said _that, _huh?" It was initially an effort for Blake to contain her shock, but upon reflection, sifting through recent memory, it did make sense, "And that makes you uncomfortable?"

"No… Yes… I… I just don't know what to think, Blake…" Weiss admitted unreservedly, "I can't just tell myself that I screwed up, and to work harder this time-, I don't know what to do!"

Blake felt a momentary hint of amusement creeping up inside her, but snuffed it out; it was an ironic display really, the Schnee heiress who for all the world held up an implacable front, was in tears and angry with herself because someone had told her that _she was loved…_

"I don't see why you're taking this so hard," Blake said honestly, leaning back in her seat, "I mean you'd think someone told you that…" she trailed of; it was too soon for her of all people to talk to Weiss about losing people, so instead she just sighed again, "I guess what I just don't understand is why _you're hurt…_"

Weiss's arms went slack and fell to her sides and she looked up at the slate-grey sky, "That's just it-, It hit me like a ton of bricks… she just seemed so scared and I… I didn't know what-, _I_ _still don't know what to say_… and… she ran before could say anything like she thought I was going to hate her or something… I… I could never… but…" she looked over at Blake, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I thought I was doing better, but do I still act _that_ cold?"

"Uh..." Blake stalled to choose her words carefully; Weis had been far more personable lately, it was true, but she just couldn't shake a certain sense of distance brought on, Blake could only guess, by years of holding everything in, "You _have _been getting better… you're not perfect but-,"

"You think I don't know that?" Weiss snapped again, "I have worked and trained and studied and tried so hard for so long to be a model Schnee, and-," she choked on the words, "look what it's done to me,"

Blake clenched her teeth together in an effort to prevent herself from offering any hollow platitudes; that wasn't what Weiss needed right now, "Then forget all that; what matters now is one simple question: _do you love her?_"

"She's always been there for me-, I owe her so much-,"

Blake slapped her.

"Wh- You hit me!" Weiss stammered the obvious as an angry red mark asserted itself on her cheek where Blake had struck.

"I asked if _you love her, _not what you think you owe her-, this isn't a business deal! You need to answer this Weiss, not _Chairman Schnee!_ It's a simple question: whether or not you feel it, and if you don't, then don't you _dare _pretend like you do! Lying to yourself and her won't make this go away, it'll just make it worse later!"

"I… Blake I… you're right…" Weis let out a sigh and resumed staring into her palms, "I think I needed that…"

* * *

"I was just gonna enjoy the time with her…" Ruby admitted, now sitting Blake's bed beside her sister, who still had an arm protectively over her shoulder, "But then when you called her I… I panicked and couldn't make an excuse so…"

"So you told her…" Yang offered gently, much of the antipathy that she'd been brewing for Weiss evaporating when Ruby put all the pieces into place, "And what did she say?"

"She… She didn't… I ran away…"

Yang couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Well that's no way to deal with your problems, Sis; I mean, you're _Ruby Rose-, _the girl who charged a _Deathstalker _single-handed… sure, it didn't work but…. Okay, bad example… But the point is that you've gotta face this Ruby; what's the worst that could happen?"

"She could hate me forever and we wouldn't be friends anymore,"

_Goin' right for the jugular I guess… _Yang thought to herself, "Don't be ridiculous Ruby, nobody can hate _you; _you're much to adorable for that," Yang affectionately messed up Ruby's hair, "and even if she could, you've got me to straighten her out 'til she _does _love you,"

"No!" Ruby shook her head, a look of panic on her face, "you can't! I don' want her to… to feel obligated to me…"

"Kidding, kidding," Yang smiled sympathetically, "God, you really do love her…"

"Mmhmm…"

* * *

The door clicked shut as Blake and Yang left the dorm. Ruby sat on Blake's bed where Yang had left her, staring at the floor when Blake and Weiss had returned, ad Weiss seated herself similarly on her own bunk. For a good long time that was all there was between them: sullen silence, as neither wanted to be the first to speak or had the words to say. Weiss stared at the locket, which she'd yet to return to her neck, looking through the engraved silver and imagining the team photo held inside and fearing that if she were to open it and look, it might have inexplicably vanished. Ruby, conversely, couldn't keep looking at anything for long, her gaze nervously shifting with every other heartbeat, though never lifting high enough to look at the object of her affection until finally she mustered the will to speak.

"I'm sorry Weiss-,"

"Stop," Weis cut her off, spurred on now that she wasn't first to speak, "You have nothing to apologize for,"

Ruby swallowed, "Yang kinda thought so too, but…"

Weiss sighed, "If anyone is to apologize here, it's me; I could certainly have been more…" _Understanding? _"…Approachable…"

Ruby curled up in her cloak, still not making eye contact, "But I shouldn't have lied to you… it wasn't fair of me to take advantage of the situation like that…"

"Ruby…" Weiss searched for the best words, "Did you mean it?"

Ruby was on her feet in an instant as she answered, a look of pleading eagerness and yet simultaneous reluctance on her face, "Of course, I couldn't lie about-,"

Weiss burst into tears as she got up to embrace Ruby, swallowing the lump in her throat, "I'm… I'm so sorry Ruby,"

Ruby didn't understand at first, but tears came to her silver eyes as she did.

"Ruby, I-,"

"Don't say it," Ruby buried her face in Weiss's shoulder.

"No Ruby," Weiss squeezed her all the harder, "You need to hear this from me and no one else…"

"But I don't-,"

"I love you Ruby, so much; you've always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it, you listened, you were there when I needed someone to lean on… God, I am _so sorry _Ruby; it hurts so much to say this, but it must be nothing compared to what you're going through…" Weiss halted for a shaky breath, "You're always so cheerful and enthusiastic and you're such a wonderful person; _you _are everything that I try so hard to be-, God, how I envied you… You deserve so much better than this-, better than _me_… You are the best friend I could ever ask for Ruby, and words can't express how much you mean to me-, how much I love you but…" She squeezed her eyes shut, "Not like that…"

Ruby was quiet, but for the quiet gasps and sobs.

"I don't want to lose your friendship Ruby, please believe me when I say that," Weis continued, haltingly between her own wracking sobs, "You've given me so much, and I know it's so selfish, and I hate myself for it-, I can't ask you to forgive me… I just want you to know that it's not your fault Ruby, there's absolutely _nothing _wrong with you… I'm so sorry… I just… I don't feel _that way…_"

"Thank you,"

Shocked, Weiss stepped back from the embrace, hands on Ruby's shoulders as silver eyes met tear-soaked blue, "What?"

"You were still so honest with me," Ruby sniffled, forcing a sad smile, "We can still be friends?"

"Of course you dunce!" she pulled Ruby back into the embrace, "Thank you so much Ruby…"

**Author's Note: Okay, White Rose folks, please don't hurt me…**

**Unrequited love is hardly a new idea, but what I haven't seen yet was a case in which we get to read about it from the perspective of the object of the unrequited affection. That said, this story is still primarily about Weiss, and there's one thing left to do before this story can draw to a close: I have to involve her father. To do this, I'm planning about three more chapters, and possibly an epilogue, but I'm open to suggestions as to how the events of this chapter should affect the team dynamic, both in general, and in combat. Again, I'm sorry White Rose fans; I promise that I didn't write this just to sink the ship, I just felt that this was an angle that we haven't seen yet, and I wanted to put it out there. Feel free to share your opinions in reviews or PMs, but please bear in mind that this was written with no malign intent whatsoever; I hope you can forgive me for it. **


	19. Advice

Weiss stepped backward, parrying Jaune's overhand stroke and then launching a counter-thrust, striking him at the shoulder of his sword arm, again.

"You're doing better Jaune," Pyrrha encouraged, "You just need to take more advantage of your shield,"

Weiss returned Myrtenaster to her hip, "Are we done for today?"

Pyrrha gave her a quizzical look, "Well, I can't _make _you stay for the whole session, but I had planned a bit more… I just figured we'd call a break,"

"Oh… alright…" Weiss didn't really want to go back to the dorms yet anyway, but she couldn't get into this either; she shook her head, "good…"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright Weiss? You seem more… mellow… than usual…"

_No, everything is not alright… _"It's fine… I've just got a lot on my mind…"

"That seems to be a recurring problem…" the concern was obvious on her face, "Can I help?"

Weiss shook her head again, "No, not really,"

Pyrrha glanced at the ground for a moment in dismay, "Alright… Well, why don't you two take a breather while I get some drinks?"

"Yeah," Jaune nodded, still catching his breath.

Weiss just nodded silently.

Without a word between them, Jaune and Weiss moved to take a seat on a nearby bench. Jaune might have been a screw-up for most of his life, but he could plainly tell that something was very off. With nothing else to do, however, he made a hesitant attempt to engage the heiress in conversation.

"So I uh… It's good to see that you've fully recovered…"

_Like hell I have… _

"Ruby told us that you were all kinds of awesome on that mission," Weiss winced at Ruby's name, but didn't interrupt as he continued, sounding somewhat awed, "I mean, everything you had to give and more… Hell, I wish I was half that good…"

_Too bad I couldn't give her the one thing she wanted…_ "Jaune…"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to be rejected?"

"Huh?" Jaune's voice nearly cracked as more than a few embarrassing episodes played through his memory, not the least of which involving the Heiress herself.

"I just figured you'd know better than… I…" she cringed a bit at the realization of what she'd been implying, "That… that came out wrong, I'm sorry-,"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "No… It's… It's kinda true…"

"I wasn't trying to-,"

"I know, I know," he nodded by way of understanding, only to swiftly don a puzzled look once more, "But who in their right mind would reject _you?_"

Weiss fell silent again.

"Snow-?"

"Call me that again and I swear Jaune, _they will never find your body…_"

The nickname died on his lips as a shiver ran down his spine, "Oka, please don't hurt me!"

The anger swiftly bled out of her though; he didn't know… "I'm just… I'm just not in the mood for it today Jaune,"

"Yeah," he nodded hesitantly, "Okay… You wanna talk about it?"

_Yes, _"No,"

Blake had said that she'd made the right choice, and though Yang was hardly pleased, she'd respected Weiss's decision, but that didn't make living with it any easier.

"_We can still be friends?"_

"_Of course you Dunce!" _

They'd said it, yes, but how were they supposed to do that? They couldn't just pretend that it hadn't happened, they couldn't undo, unsay, or unhear the words. Weiss had meant every word, but the problem was, so had Ruby…

"I…" Weiss spoke again, "I never thought being the one to reject someone could hurt so much…"

"Can I ask-?"

"No,"

Jaune didn't persist, "Alright… but to be totally honest… Whenever I ask a girl out…" he laughed bitterly, "It's a huge load of crap-, I mean, I don't even know the names of half the girls I've asked out… it sorta reflects kinda poorly on me now that I think of it but…" He shook his head, forcing himself to remain on subject, "I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm a lousy example of how people feel about going through rejection… not because I haven't been rejected… time and time and _time again_… God, I'm a loser…"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Oh, right…" he cleared his throat, "Basically what I'm saying is that… I don't know what it's like… not really; I swing at every opportunity because I'm an Arc, and Arcs are supposed to be heroes to win the fight, get the girl, y'know?"

Weiss nodded, a sense of familiarity beginning to squeeze at her inside her chest.

"And I miss every time 'cause I'm a colossal screw-up who isn't worth the family name…"

Weiss considered the words quietly.

Jaune's hand moved to the back of his neck again, "You know… that's usually the part where you're supposed to tell me that I'm _not _a huge screw-up…"

Weiss sighed, "I would, but I prefer not to lie to my friends…" _No, you just like to shut them out instead… _

"Oh…" His head slumped forward in disappointed agreement, then perked up again, "Wait, we're friends?"

_Are we? _She hadn't really thought about the words as she let them slip past her lips for once, "I… I guess we are…"

"Well don't agree too fast,"

"Yes," Weiss affirmed more confidently this time, though she was simultaneously rolling her eyes at his comment, "It's weird to say out loud, but yes,"

Jaune smirked, "Finally,"

"Don't get too full of yourself, Arc,"

He shrugged, "Anyway, the point I was _trying to make _was that I've never experienced _real _rejection… 'Cause I'm too much of a _massive coward _to actually try to ask the one girl I really want to ask…"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" She gave him a little shove.

"Um.. that's not what I-,"

Weiss caught herself smiling for the first time in days, "Relax Jaune, I know, and for what It's worth, I think Pyrrha would be very appreciative if you were to work up the courage to ask her,"

"You think so?" He asked, then his eyes shot wide, "Wait, how did you-?"

"I wasn't born yesterday Jaune,"

"Was it that obvious?"

"For a while, yes,"

Jaune sighed, "Well… I feel like an idiot…"

"You said it, not me,"

"Oh come on!" He objected, "You could at least _try _to spare my ego!"

Weiss shook he head with a sly smile, a bad habit she'd picked up from Yang, "Nonsense; I think it's that _groveling charm _that's likely to win Pyrrha over."

Jaune swallowed, "Um…"

"Kidding," Weiss assured him, "Relax, just keep being a nice guy and for pity's sake, _buy a spine!_"

Jaune laughed at his own expense, leaning back in his seat, "Yeah, I guess I probably should, shouldn't I?" He shot her a wry smile, "I don't suppose I could borrow a fifty Lien?"

"Maybe next time," Weiss couldn't help smiling back, "But let me ask you something else,"

"Alright, shoot,"

"How is it that you've managed to be _friends _when you've… you know… had a… _Thing _for her…"

Jaune laughed nervously, "I uh… lack of confidence?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Come again?"

"Yeah, I like her, but I didn't-, hell, I _still don't _think I'm good enough, so I just didn't ask, and I guess we just sorta went on being friends…"

_Makes sense… Not helpful though… _

"I don't suppose you have any ideas as to how I could stay friends with someone I had to reject?"

Jaune considered it carefully, regarding her with a curious look, but knowing better than to pry at this point, "Um… I… I honestly have no idea…"

Weiss swallowed, gaze falling to the ground, "I thought not…"

"Hey Jaune! Weiss! I got you each a Schi-nee…" Pyrrha's voice trailed off as she got a feel for the somber mood, "Bad time?"

Weiss shook her head, rising to her feet, "No, we were just talking,"

"I see…" Pyrrha handed out the two cans, attempting small talk so as to avoid any raw nerves, "You wouldn't believe how many of the vending machines are out of order-,"

"Pyrrha," Weiss cut in, "I need advice,"

"Very well," Pyrrha nodded with a slightly relieved smile, "How can I help?"

Weiss glanced to Jaune, who nodded and took a walk, and once she was out of earshot, Weiss spoke, "It's about Ruby…"

Pyrrha cocked her head, opening her can, "What about her?"

"She… She told me that she loves me and-,"

Pyrrha spluttered, nearly choking on the soda, "She what?"

Weiss stared at the ground again, "Please don't make me say it again…"

Pyrrha shook off the surprise, "Sure… but… I'm not sure I'm the one to ask about this…"

"You're the only one left for me _to_ ask," Weiss sighed.

Blake may have approved of her honesty, but she hadn't had any advice about going forward with the decision made, just that it would only be worse if she'd tried to humor Ruby, and Yang hadn't wanted to talk to her much. Jaune meant well, but it was clear to her that he didn't have the answers she needed. Ren and Nora weren't likely to be much help either, and she wasn't about to go to professor Port… That just left Pyrrha…

"I… I don't feel the same way…"

"Oh dear…"

Weiss nodded, left hand tightening around her other wrist as she fought back her pride, "We've… we've already talked about it, Ruby and I, that is… and we still want to be friends… but I don't know how…"

Pyrrha set down her drink, "Hmm… An admirable choice but…"

"I thought so," the disappointment was plain in Weiss's voice.

"You didn't let me finish," Pyrrha shook her head, "I won't say that it will be easy, but if there's one thing you excel at above all else Weiss, it's working hard and pushing yourself, heiress or not," she smiled, "and on the bright side, you don't have to blow yourself up on top of a train car for this,"

Weiss's hand moved to her right shoulder, "Yeah…"

"Would it be presumptuous of me to say that you _do _love her? If not like that…"

Weiss chewed her lip; it was pretty much exactly how she felt, which only made her situation harder, "Yes…"

"Then try to think of it this way," Pyrrha offered, casting a wistful look off in the direction that Jaune had gone in, "There's a difference between love and romance-, does that make sense? The way _I _think of it at least… love is more of an attitude… You love someone when put them before yourself… whether or not you uh…" She reddened, "Whether or not you _want _them…"

_I… _

"You don't have to think of it that way…" Pyrrha started to backpedal, plainly embarrassed at having said perhaps more than she'd intended.

"No," Weiss shook her head as relief washed over her and she stepped forward to give Pyrrha a hug, another habit she'd fallen into only recently, "Thank you Pyrrha…"

Pyrrha was momentarily startled by the display, but after a moment she returned the hug awkwardly, "You'll be alright; this is something you can work through-, it doesn't have to be all or nothing,"

Weiss nodded, "Okay… a little at a time then,"

Pyrrha nodded in turn, "You can make this work Weiss, don't worry; just show her that you still care, even if you don't have _those _feelings for her,"

There was a long silence as the two of them just stood there, _It's odd really; if I'm not careful I'll start depending on everyone… And then what would father say? _She smiled, though the expression was buried in Pyrrha's shoulder, _That doesn't matter right now; what does is that I think… I think Pyrrha's right… _

"Hey Pyrrha?" Weiss asked without pulling away, "How do you do it?"

"Pardon?"

"You're amazing…"

Pyrrha smiled awkwardly as she started to blush again, "I don't know about that…"

_You know what Daddy… I understand what happened – I know why you're so cold and angry all the time, but I've learned a lot since I came here and... and I think we both need to change… _

**Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the longer than average gap in posting for this one, but what with Christmas and all that, I haven't had the time until know. Anyway, with this chapter, I'm ready to launch into what is currently planned to be the final arc of this story. If you'd rather that not be the case, feel free to let me know that you'd like to see more of this and I'll see what I can do about it, but I make no promises beyond another 3-4 chapters, including an epilogue. As always, please let me know what you think of the chapter; I'm especially interested to read your opinions now as the story draws to a close. I do hope that you enjoyed it. **


	20. Reunion

**Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter twenty, I hope you all enjoy, although this one is admittedly a bit more of an introspective one. Please let me know what you think.**

This mission had come up out of nowhere. Professor Goodwitch had summoned both Teams RWBY and JNPR to Ozpin's office out of the clear blue mere minutes after Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha had concluded their practice session, and so they'd proceeded to the Headmaster's office without delay. On the way there Ren and Nora had caught up, and the other members of Team RWBY were already waiting outside the door when Weiss and team JNPR arrived. Nora set about asking anyone and everyone and in as many ways possible what the summons could be about, but all others were quiet; a great deal of personal tension remained in the air to which Nora was blissfully ignorant. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but the wait seemed like an eternity; Yang wasn't quite ready to forgive Weiss yet, and didn't have anything to say, but what grasped as Weiss's heart most was the way that way tat Ruby forced herself to smile.

"_Hey Weiss… Did your training session go well?"_

Weiss had let out a sigh, glancing to Pyrrha as though to borrow some of her strength as she answered, _"Yeah… It really helps…"_

It had been then that Professor Goodwitch had opened the doors to Ozpin's office and bidden them to enter. Inside, Ozpin was sitting behind a large mahogany desk piled with files and paperwork, and as always, he had his coffee mug in one hand as he used his other to sift through something on his scroll with the other. As the two teams lined up before him, Goodwitch stood herself behind the eight of them, blocking the door with her person. If Weiss had been in a clearer state of mind, she might have suspected this as the psychological tactic that it was; meant to create a sense of entrapment such that compliance would be the only option. As it was, she had other things on her mind at the moment, and save perhaps for Blake, none of the others were possessed of the conditioned cynicism necessary to consciously puzzle this out.

"_Thank you for coming ladies and gentlemen," _He'd greeted them with that vague half-smile, _"I appreciate that you all have much weighing on you what with your classes and… other matters…" _

_Did he know? _Weiss didn't allow her stony expression to falter, _It wouldn't surprise me at this point…_

"_But I have asked you here with the regrettable purpose of adding to your load..."_

_You've got nothing Ozpin, you, at least, can't hurt me… _

Ozpin had taken a sip of his coffee before he continued, _"A I am sure that you all know, as a direct result Team RWBY's exemplary performance on field assignment at the start of the semester, the police have in custody one Adam Taurus, a high-level White Fang Ringleader, whose trial is now scheduled for the end of this week,"_

Weiss had winced at the memory; her right shoulder still occasionally bothered her, if only in the form of a dull throbbing in the mornings.

"_That said, the authorities are concerned about the potential for an attempted break-out, and have thus contacted Beacon to solicit our cooperation. To that end, I have decided that your two teams will be dispatched to provide additional security until the conclusion of the trial." _

"_Uh, sir?" _Jaune had asked nervously, _"What about our classes? I can't afford to fall behind…" _

"_Don't concern yourself, Mr. Arc, you'll all be given a pass for your absences, as well as time to catch up"_

"_Okay…" _

"_So we're all going to be tasked to the courthouse?" _Ren had asked, unbelieving, _"Forgive my saying so sir, but that would seem excessive," _

"_No Ren; Team JNPR will be assigned to the courthouse, Team RWBY will be assigned to the Vale Grand Hotel,"_

That had thrown Weiss, _"The Grand Hotel? Why?" _She couldn't resist asking, but she'd quickly come to wish that she hadn't.

The Headmaster's face took on a more solemn visage_ "The court has decided to summon Chairman Abel Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company from Atlas to testify,"_

Weiss's eyes had gone wide, and seven sets of eyes fell upon her, _"Father's coming… here?" _

"_Mr. Schnee is scheduled to arrive in three days," _Ozpin had nodded, _"and it will be Team RWBY's task to serve as his bodyguard,"_

* * *

That had been three days ago, and now four members of Team RWBY stood at stiff alert before the hotel, awaiting the arrival of Mr. Schnee's limousine. The hotel was situated on at the end of one of the city's broadest thoroughfares, with an excellent view of the sea, but that held little importance to the four huntresses-in-training. Juxtaposed to the tone of the occasion, the day's weather was crystal clear, and though there was an early spring chill, one couldn't say that it was cold. Weiss' shivering was derived from an internal source.

_Straighten your posture, expression firm, hands clasped behind your back, remember: a Schnee is strong as a mountain, and half as flexible. _

"Princess,"

Weiss cringed a bit at the recidivism of the loathed nickname, but she wasn't going to take issue with it'; Yang had a right to be angry at her, "Yes Yang?"

"Your old man; what's he like?"

Ruby tried weakly to interrupt the subject, "Yang, don't-,"

"It's fine," Weiss shook her head; Ruby meant well, but she wouldn't want anyone to meet her father unprepared, "You all have a right to know,"

Weiss took a deep breath, but did not relax her posture as she began her explanation, "Father expects the best from everyone in his…" _family… _"service… Don't expect him to be pleasant… he won't be, but as long as we all keep our opinions to ourselves, he will be _civil…_"

"He better not get to thinkin' we're his damn maids," Yang snorted, "I'm not gonna take that, Princess,"

Weiss chewed her lip, "To be honest Yang, he probably won't even talk to any of you… He probably won't talk to me…" Her expression grew stern, "But that, Yang, is _exactly _the sort of thing that you will _not _repeat in his presence,"

"Okay, listen here Princess-!"

Blake stepped between them, "Yang, calm down!" she shot Weiss a look somewhere between 'okay, you're right' and 'you could've put that better,' "Let's not make this harder than it has to be; we're all just going to have to swallow our pride and _behave…_"

Weiss nodded, letting a shade of remorse creep into her voice and color her face, "With any luck,, he won't find any of us to be worth opining on…"

"The Hell's that s'posed to mean?"

"Yang please…" Ruby begged, "don't be like this…"

"To answer your question Yang," Weiss sighed, noting the approaching white limousine, "Father tends not to concern himself with matters outside the company. Now, here he comes,"

Ruby took a nervous leading position as the limo rolled to a halt in front of the hotel. Weiss put on her best respectful expression and straightened her posture, and Yang and Blake also composed themselves, if not quite so stiffly. Weiss couldn't help but notice Ruby's nervous fidgeting.

_It's just like the café… Oh Ruby… I'm sorry… _

There had been one music tutor when she was fifteen that had brought his son to participate in her lessons. She'd become friends with him over time – Weiss had certainly needed one after Mother left, and they worked well together. The tutor himself had an excellent grasp of his subject, was an understanding man, and his son was kind and respectful. Then one day, Weiss had overheard the boy ask her father's permission to ask Weiss out, and her heart had skipped a beat until…

_Get out…_

And like that, the tutor and his son were gone, and Weiss had been alone again. She knew why Father had denied the boy permission; Father had the Schnee name and the company's future to think about, and the son of a servant was no fit match for his daughter, but still… Weiss couldn't help but be reminded of the incident by the fretful look on Ruby's face.

_I can't even imagine what Ruby's going through… _Weiss fought to keep the apprehension from her face, _She has the best idea about how he is… Ruby please… let this just be business… _

As the driver got out and opened the door for Mr. Schnee, all the bustle of the city seemed to fade into a dim background state. Out from the vehicle he stepped, a tall man with ivory hair short-cropped about his head. He was clean-shaven, as always, a state which only served to make the frown lines etched into his stern facial features all the more evident. He wore a long white overcoat emblazoned with the Schnee family sigil; In many ways, it was a more austere, masculine version of Weiss' own ensemble, but the comparison ended there. Weiss, like her mother, was on the shorter side of average, whereas Chairman Abel Schnee was easily six feet. At a glance, the man's taciturn manner would have been easily misinterpreted by the casual onlooker to mean that that he was simply ill-disposed toward his fellow man, and though this could certainly be said to be the case, Weiss knew better. The cane he the silver cane he carried in his right hand concealed the Schnee family sword, Prometheus, which Father had inherited when she was seven, and there was that all too familiar coldness in his eyes which expected nothing from the world; not born of the self-reliance which he'd always preached, but rather out of a jaded lack of faith in anything.

"Umm… Hello Mr. Schnee…" Ruby stuttered, "We're… We're from Beacon and-,"

"Yes, I know who you are," He didn't wait for Ruby's explanation, "I will be retiring to my rooms. Follow if you must,"

_Father…_

"Weiss,"

Weiss was corrected an ever-so-slight lapse in her posture as her name was called, "Yes Father?"

"You will come with me,"

She swallowed, "Actually Father, I am also assigned-,"

"I'm aware,"

She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the stares from Blake and Yang, "I'm not in charge here; you'll have to take that up with Ruby," It was the same thing she'd said to the train conductor, but it was so much harder to say it to Father…

Unmoved, her father's eyes moved to scan Weiss's peers, as though considering them for the first time, as he probably was, "So be it. Miss Rose, was it? I'm afraid that I shall require my daughter's presence privately, do we have an understanding?"

Ruby's eyes darted back and forth, "Um.. sure… We'll… we'll just stand guard outside your suite…"

"As you will," Weiss' father said dismissively, starting for the hotel, "Come Weiss,"

Nodding meekly, Weiss obeyed.

It was at a not inconsiderable distance that her teammates followed father and daughter into the hotel. It was as if by instinct that the hotel staff knew not to approach them beyond confirming the reservation and providing the key-card; Abel Schnee had that effect on people, and thus they proceeded uninterrupted to the north Tower suite. Mr. Schnee was first to enter the suite, and Weiss held the door open for her teammates to enter, inviting them to enter as well.

"Please, if you could all just wait here…"

Ruby nodded as she took a seat on a finely upholstered couch in the suite's main room. Blake and Yang just stood. With an apologetic nod, Weiss followed her father into the suite's private study.

* * *

"So… what do you guys think of this?" Yang asked, a bitter note in her voice as the door shut behind Weiss and her old man, "'Cause I'm not sure I dig it,"

"Yang!" Ruby sprang right back up again and scolded in whisper, forgetting that _she _was the younger sister, "Why are you being like this?"

"C'mon sis, you can't tell me that you _like _being treated like you're not here by _two _stuck-up rich_-_,"

"Yang!" It was Blake's turn to admonish in hushed tones, and this time it got through.

The blonde let her shoulders slump backward and let out an exasperated sigh, "I… I'm sorry… I guess I was being an ass again…"

"Yang…" Ruby moved over and gave her sister a hug, "I'm grateful that you care so much about me but… Don't take it out on Weiss…"

The brawler winced, "Sis-,"

"She's right Yang," Blake added, "The decision has been made, and now they-,_ no,_ _all of us, _have to move past that."

Yang returned Ruby's hug, "I know… but she's my sister Blake, and I want her to be happy… Ruby deserves it-,"

"And what about Weiss?" It was a challenge, to be sure, but Blake's voice was not without sympathy, "Would you be _happy _if she forced herself to be yours, Ruby?"

Ruby tightened her embrace with her sister, shaking her head, trying to control her emotions, and not trusting herself to speak.

"Ruby…"

"Forcing Weiss to live a lie won't fix this for anyone, Yang," Blake asserted, "Yeah, your heart's in the right place Yang, but you're only thinking of Ruby; _she's _the injured party here, and _she _understands that it has to be this way,"

"I just… I can't believe she'd just snub you like that-,"

"That's not how it happened Sis, I told you it wasn't like that…" Ruby looked up at Yang, "She was nice and… and…"

"See? This is what I'm talking about," Yang pulled Ruby close again, "It's just not fair…" She looked imploringly at Blake, "You see this? She's _defending _the girl that _rejected her!_ She shouldn't have to-,"

"She doesn't _have to_," Blake shook her head, "But that's love, I guess,"

* * *

Weiss stood at attention, hands clasped behind her back, waiting in silence as her father took a seat in a high backed chair and laid his cane across his knees. The room was of Spartan décor; bookshelves lined most of the walls, and there was a heavy desk opposite the door, not unlike Ozpin's office. Weiss recognized many of the volumes on the shelves, most of which were about Dust, business, and politics; Father was clearly the sole tenant to ever occupy this suite. It didn't surprise her; the Company had standing reservations at the best hotels in all of Vytal's major cities in the event that sudden travel was necessary, as had been the case now.

After nearly five minutes of silence, Weiss worked up the courage to speak, "It's… Nice to see you again Father…"

Making no attempt to acknowledge the pleasantry, her father finally spoke, "Am I to understand that your superior is that _child?_"

_She's not just a child! _Weiss bit back the anger though, "Yes Father, her name is-,"

"Irrelevant," He interrupted, "How is it that the Heiress of the Schnee Dust company finds herself subordinate to a stuttering child?"

"Beacon is a _combat school _Father," Weiss couldn't keep all of the indignation from her voice this time, "And Ruby is a prodigy; not good with first impressions, I grant, but as a huntress-to-be she is nothing short of exceptional,"

The errant passion in her voice seemed to give him pause, and as he Father scrutinized daughter with icy, narrowed eyes, she very quickly wished that it hadn't.

"This girl is your friend, is she?"

Weiss froze, _Yes… but is that the right answer?_

"Yes or no Weiss; It is a simple question,"

_Oh God, why those words? _"I… Yes…" She dared not apprise her father of all that had passed between Ruby and herself since last she'd seen him.

He did not look pleased, but then, he hadn't for years, and again, he said nothing. He didn't need to; Weiss knew how Father felt about people in general, especially, those who claimed to be his, and by extension, Weiss' friends.

"So, the Headmaster told us that you were here to testify…"

"Yes," He acknowledged, "The damned animal won't soon see the light of day again,"  
"Father," Weiss steeled herself, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't use language like that,"

"Excuse me?" His tone was suspicious and accusing.

"I… I've met a few Faunus at Beacon, Father, and they're very good people,"

"Weakness is one luxury that we cannot afford Weiss," He lectured, fingers drumming on his cane, "No daughter of mine is going to be a damned White Fang sympathizer,"

"Of course not!" Weiss couldn't help it, "Don't you think I miss Uncle too? Did you forget that _I _brought the _bastard _you're going to testify against in? I'm not a damned sympathizer Father, but my friends aren't _animals!_"

The Schnee Dust Company Chairman was deathly silent for a moment, before speaking again with a stony expression, "I trust that you've purged yourself of this foolishness now? Another outburst will not be tolerated; do I make myself clear?"

Weiss felt as though a mouse before a lion, "Yes Sir,"

"Good," He seemed to mull over his next choice of words, "I do however commend the courage, if not your judgment; Initiative is a trait that I have found sorely lacking on the board,"

_Was that actually a…_

"In future, however, do not allow such initiative to outstrip your good sense; the world will not wait for you to recover from your blunders,"

_And there it goes… _"I understand Father, I'm sorry," _You didn't even send someone to make sure that I was okay… _

"I don't want your apologies Weiss, I expect you to improve; all the groveling in the world won't be enough when the company rests on _your _shoulders."

"Yes Sir,"

Weiss swallowed, feeling incredibly small again, for here before her sat the living embodiment of everything a Schnee was _supposed _to be. He was _exactly _as Uncle had described her Grandfather when she was seven, but perhaps _half as flexible as a mountain _was too generous. Taking a deep breath and stepping outside herself for a moment though, she really looked at him, for the first time doing so outside the goal of regaining what they'd lost, and endeavoring to see him for what he _really was: _bitter, angry, unwilling to share his burdens, and most importantly this was _exactly _how she'd been before she'd come to Beacon.

**Author's Note: Alright, so the next (and final) action set-piece for this story will kick off in the next chapter, and spill over into the one after that in all likelihood (Let's see, we'll have Team RWBY, Team JNPR, ?), so I hope you can bear with me while I build the context. On a different note, I am open to suggestions about any tweaks to Weiss father, and on a similar note, I'd like to challenge you all to guess what **_**three historical/ mythological/ literary etc. figures **_**on which I'm drawing for his character, and in what capacity. Until next time! Oh, and please review. **


	21. Enough

Professor Ozpin's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the reports streaming on his scroll. This was not good.

"Glynda, cancel classes until further notice, and take Peter and Bartholomew to the city's south gate,"

Goodwitch cocked her head, "Sir, is that necessary?"

He showed her the reports, "It won't be enough…"

* * *

At the front of the courtroom, Abel Schnee sat down, having concluded his testimony. He'd presented the court with records of several dozen train heists on Schnee trains, kidnappings, and finally police records from Atlas attesting to the murders of several board members, company staff, and Weiss' uncle. The room fell quiet; the jury was appalled, though whether this had come as a result of the crimes summarized to them, or from the cold and level tone with which the Schnee chairman had delivered the summaries. Weiss knew, as did the judge, based on his stern expression as he occasionally regarded Adam, presently chained to the bench beside his woeful lawyer that Adam was for all intents and purposes utterly condemned, and all that remained was for the sentence to be handed down. Watching the proceedings from the benches were numerous journalists, some from less reputable outlets, all busily taking notes for their articles, whether they be about their expectations of the forthcoming verdict, or about their speculation about which of the jurors that her Father had bribed. From where she stood at the back of the courtroom, Weiss dismissed her contempt for the muckrakers; Father didn't need to _bribe _jurors, they'd rule in his favor if they valued their lives. It was a bitter irony really; the reputation that the undoubtedly feared came as a result of these same shock-jock journalist who fancied themselves egalitarians as they railed against the Dust Company. The end result was a self-perpetuating spiral as the 'journalists' fed their own notions about the Company and her Father. Not that it could be honestly said that Abel Schnee was the easiest man to work for, or that he was even still a good man; of that even Weiss wasn't sure anymore. The judge dismissed the jury to deliberate, and with that the gawkers also stood and filed out because there wouldn't be anything newsworthy to distort until the jury returned; Abel Schnee did not give interviews.

And then the courtroom was empty, save for Team RWBY still standing guard by the entrances and their charge as he moved away from the stand. He'd sat watching sternly as the occupancy of the courtroom thinned out, not so much as rising from his seat until the even the judge had shown himself out as though it were _he _who in fact presided over the courrtroom. Ruby, Blake, and Yang fell in behind him as he proceeded toward his daughter, who was in turn correcting the slight lapses of her posture as he drew close.

"Do you… Do you think he'll be convicted-?"

"Don't ask foolish questions," He brushed her off, "There was never any doubt of that,"

_He's right… it was a stupid thing to ask…_

"Sir," Ruby spoke up to the surprise of all, "I'd appreciate it if you were nicer to my teammate…"

"You'd do well to remember your place, Miss Rose," Mr. Schnee said coldly, "I will deal with my daughter as I see fit,"

_Remember Weiss… he does it to make you stronger…_

"No!" Ruby stomped her foot, "You can't treat her like that!"

"Ruby please-,"

"Sis, don't-,"

_Please Ruby… Not now… _

"Weiss is my partner, my _friend! _And I won't let you treat her like dirt!"

"Ruby, this isn't the time or place-," Blake tried to play damage control this time, but it was no good.

Abel Schnee's eyes narrowed, "I need not justify myself to a foolish _child; _now mind your tongue,"

"Father, please… don't-,"

"Silence Weiss," He cut her off, icy blue eyes never shifting from Ruby, "I'll not have this ignorant fool-,"

"Father, these are my friends-!"

Weiss was cut off mid-sentence as he struck her across the cheek, "I'll not have you forget yourself either-,"

He was cut off in turn by the loud mechanical noise as Ruby deployed the Crescent Rose, "I don't care who you are," Ruby said dangerously, "Apologize to her, _now._"

"Is that a threat, Miss Rose?"

_Please… no… _Weiss found herself reduced to the role of spectator in the confrontation as the stinging faded from her cheek, _Daddy…_

"Sis… you need to put that away…" Yang urged, "This isn't gonna help anyone…"

"Listen to her Ruby; you're not thinking straight," Blake added, "Calm down…"

Mr. Schnee still managed to remain unmoved, "Stay your weapon, Miss Rose, and I may yet overlook this incident,"

Ruby swallowed, her resolve and anger visibly ebbing in the face of the inflexible personification of ice which stood before her. She broke eye contact with the man's stern gaze as she reluctantly folded her weapon again.

"I… I'm sorry sir… I shouldn't have…" She took a deep breath,, then looked back at him, "But I meant what I said! You can't treat her like this!"

"Ruby Please," Weiss fought to keep the begging tone from her voice; Father wouldn't approve of begging, "Let it go… I'm used to it…" She looked over to Yang and Blake, "Could you…"

Blake nodded, and despite some initial objections, dragged Yang out of the room behind her, "Let's… let's go make sure Team JNPR's fine…"

Silence fell upon the nearly empty courtroom as the doors shut behind Blake and Yang as they exited.

"Father… I…"

"Choose your words carefully Weiss, but speak firmly or not at all; your hesitation bespeaks weakness that your enemies will not hesitate to exploit,"

"Maybe, but she doesn't have any enemies here, _does she?_" Ruby demanded, cutting in, "The only one she needs to worry about here is _you, sir,_"

"You understand nothing _child,_" Weiss' Father dismissed the criticism, "Coddling will not make her fit to take my place when the day inevitably comes; _I will not rest so long as my heir is unequal to this burden! _You are an immature child with no concept of the load which is ours to carry by blood. What right have _you_ to question me?_"_

"Father please-,"

"I love her!" Ruby shouted, tears welling up in her eyes, "And you should too! You're her _father, aren't you? _Yeah, I get that life was hard on you and stuff but… but…"

Weiss simply gaped, eyes darting between her partner and her Father, _Oh God Ruby... Daddy, please don't take her away too… _

"Okay, so maybe I don't know what it's like to run a big company or anything like that, and maybe being really strict is just a rich people thing," Ruby continued, ignoring the tears now spilling down her cheeks, "But you don't have to treat her like she's not still a _person!_"

Weiss was dumbstruck, not by the words; she know how Ruby felt, but rather by her father's reaction. He was without words. Not deathly silent, but for once, he had no response of any manner.

The silence returned heavier than ever for a moment, as all stood still as stone.

The tension was cut by the sounds of both Ruby and Weiss' scrolls going off. For a long moment they still just stood there, unwilling and unable to be the first to move. Finally though, Weiss couldn't abdicate the responsibility any longer, even as Father and Ruby continued to sate at each other.

"Ruby…" She spoke up, "We've got… We've got trouble…"

Ruby swallowed, looking away from Mr. Schnee for the first time, "What is it Weiss?"

"Grimm; at the north and south gates… lots of them…"

"What? Now?" Ruby's eyes were red, as her face showed both confusion and distress, "Are there orders?"

Weiss nodded, "Ozpin's re-assigning us to the north gate… Team JNPR stays here…" She looked up to her Father, "I'm sorry Daddy; we have to go…"

Still he was silent.

"Alright, let's… let's get this done," Ruby nodded, perhaps a bit relieved that she no longer had to get away from Mr. Schnee, "You… Sir, you should stay here…"

* * *

"Okay, Where the _Hell _did they all come from?" Yang shouted in futility as her fist yet another Beowolf's skull, "They picked a hell of a time to show up!"

"Hey Blonde!" Cardin Winchester shouted as he smashed in the skull of another Grimm, "Less talking more fighting!"

"Oh shut up Cardin!"

How it was that she'd wound up next to Cardin on the defensive line, Yang had no idea, but casting a concerned look over her shoulder to see Ruby hacking through several Beowolves at once, she reflected that today just wasn't anyone's day, "When it rains, it pours, I guess…"

That line of thought didn't last terribly long though, as she swiftly found herself absorbed in the task of discharging shotgun shells into the oncoming horde.

Weiss, meanwhile, was a mess; it was all she could do to continue dashing forward and back, impaling one Beowolf, withdraw Myrtenaster, and drive her blade into the next slavering beast. She had to keep fighting, to kill the beasts, to drive them back. Several teams from Beacon had responded at the north gate, but none had arrived in time to stop the gate from being battered down, allowing the monstrosities to pour into the city. There was no knowing how many had spread out into the city before they'd arrived, but now that they'd arrive, they had to keep any more from getting through.

Sliding back from the front on a glyph to let Sky Lark and Dove Bronzewing pick up the slack, she surveyed the oncoming mass of Grimm, writhing in a sea of black stretching on past the gates, _Not good… _She found herself glancing back over her shoulder, trying to ignore the sirens and screams about which she could do nothing, _Jaune, Pyrrha… Keep Father safe… _

"Cardin, throw me!"

"What?" Weiss couldn't help but spare a dumbfounded glance Yang's way, much as the leader of Team CRDL di at Yang's order as he added, "Are you nuts?"

"Just _do it!_" Yang barked, "But keep your hands _off the hair!_"

Gritting his teeth, Cardin obeyed, hefting the blonde by the waist to pitch her into the mass of Grimm as directed. Before he let go though, Yang curled her knees and used his armored chest as a springboard, springing skyward firing shell after shell into the mob as she reached the apex of her trajectory, and then, with a building shout, she slammed to the ground, fist leading the way. A plume of golden fire erupted in the middle of the mass, incinerating the nearest dozen or so Beowolves in the brief inferno. Not one to let himself be outdone, Cardin charged in cracking one bony mask after the next, rapidly clearing a path of escape for Yang through the dazed mass of Grimm.

_That was a stupid move… _Recollection of her own reckless stunt atop train car twenty-six came flooding back to her before Weiss could finish the thought though, _Then again… Maybe crazy's what we need right now… _

Weiss used the glyph on which she was standing to launch herself skyward and took in a view of the situation from over the wall. There were hundreds, but they didn't go on forever…

Without a further thought Weiss activated Myrtenaster's red setting and fired a salvo into the waiting mass outside the gate. As she began to fall back towards terra-firma she summoned another glyph at her feet and used it glide downward in a spiraling pattern, using Myrtenaster's light blue setting to impale any Grimm that attempted to slip through gaps in the defensive net with a shaft of ice raining down from on high, _Oh no you don't!_

She dropped back to the ground just as Velvet stumbled back for a breath, and so positioned herself to fill the void, _You can do this Weiss, you have to do this… It's just like that time in the library…_

And so she took a breath.

Clearing all unnecessary thoughts from her mind, she stepped forward with poise and decision, driving Myrtenaster through the heart of the nearest oncoming Beowolf. _One. _She pulled back, doing a pirouette, slitting open the throat of the next lunging monstrosity as she stepped just out of its reach. _Two. _With a flick of the wrist, Weiss generated a broad glyph before her, detonating it as three additional Beowolves thundered over it, and immolating them midair with the remnants of her red dust chamber. _Three, four, five, _she continued the mental count as she slid a fresh red cartridge home into Myrtenaster's spent chamber; the count helped her to keep from thinking. Pairing her next stroke with a side-step, Weiss felled another beast, and with a forward lunge she introduce Myrtenaster to another Beowolf's jugular. _Six, seven…_

"Weiss! Watch out!"

Ruby's scream wrenched Weiss from her trance, just in time to cull up a glyph to throw herself backward some ten meters to the line of defense before the place she'd been standing was pounced upon from three sides, "Thanks Ruby… I… just thanks…"

"What was that?" Ruby demanded with a note of panic in her voice as she hewed the heads from several Beowolves with the force of the recoil from the Crescent Rose, "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I… I know…" Weiss shook her head and took a fighting stance, "I'm sorry; I was out of it, but I'm ready now,"

Ruby stepped back from the line, letting a few second-year students fill the gap, "Did you get a good look at what we're dealing with while you were up in the air?"

Weiss nodded, "We've got about a fifth of the horde inside the walls…" She didn't finish the implication as they both glanced back at the hundreds of slavering beast clashing with police forces and their fellow Beacons students.

"Is there good news? We could really use some good news today…"

Weiss glanced down at her scroll, "I saw a couple of Ursai… but nothing like the _Nevermore _reported at the south gate…"

"I'll take it I guess…." Ruby sighed.

"Do you have a plan?"

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, "If we could just push the back to the gate we'd be able to take them down as they funneled through… Weiss!" Ruby's silver eyes shot open as she perked up again, "Can you freeze the gate shut?"

Weiss cocked her head, "It's already open-,"

"No! That's not what I meant," Ruby shook her head with renewed enthusiasm, "I mean can you _block the gate _with a wall of ice?"

Weiss considered it for a moment, "Yes… I think… but I'm going to need to be close to throw u a slab of that size…"

"Right," Ruby nodded, then shouted, "Yang, Blake! We need to get Weiss up to the gate!"

Weiss shook her head, double checking that Myrtenaster was set to red, "I can _get there, _but I'll need you to cover me while I erect the barrier,"

"Huh?"

But before Ruby could get anything else out, Weiss shot forward clearing the path before her with a mass of Dust-fueled flame as she plowed forward. With a flourish, she swiftly conjured and discharged a dozen glyphs at the area of the open gate as she drew near, reducing the startled Grimms to bones and ashes with a last clearing blast of flame. Again the fire cartridge was spent, but this time she hadn't the time to replace it, so she switched to ice instead, freezing anything that moved to the spot. Blake was the first to catch up, hacking down the first couple of Beowolves to attempt to surge through the gap from outside.

"That was reckless Weiss!"

"Come on," Weiss said between heavy breaths, "I trust you guys,"

"Trust huh?" Blake laughed despite the situation, "How far we've come,"

Weiss drove Myrtenaster down another Beowolf's gullet, "I know right? I hardly believe it myself, but there it is!"

Then Ruby arrived on the scene, hacking down a number of oncoming Beowolves in a buzz-saw spin, "Don't scare me like that Weiss!"

"You got here in time, didn't you?" Weiss shot back, going so far as to crack a little smile, "Good to know you've got my back,"

"Of course I do!"

"YOU ARE SOOO LUCKY I LIKE YOU PRINCESS!" Yang roared as she powered forward through the yelping mass of distressed Beowolves, "'CAUSE IF I DIDN'T I'D KICK YOUR ASS!"

"I'll have to take a rain-check on that," Weiss chuckled, "I need to reload; can you-,"

"Done," Ruby nodded, and she and Blake sprang into action, mowing down any enemy that moved on Weiss.

Weiss ejected the red and blue Dust capsules and loaded fresh ones, _Alright Daddy, this is for you; maybe after this we can be a family again?_

"Yang, Blake, you keep them off her from this side!" Ruby ordered, "I'll make sure no more come through the gate!"

"By yourself?" Weiss gaped, "There's too many; you'll get yourself-!"

"Pot callin' the kettle black much?" Ruby cut her off with smile, "Just make sure you get me out once the wall's up, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, Ruby went through the gate meeting the horde in a flurry of red and black.

"Ruby!"

_Alright Weiss, get this done; there's no time to hesitate now!_

Shouting out all her frustration and anxiety, she drove Myrtenaster's blade into the ground, discharging the whole of its icy payload at once, and using her aura to ensure that it assumed the desired form. In a matter of moments the ice built upon itself in a mighty slab, filling the gate and barring any further entrance. The deed was done. Wasting no time, Weiss launched herself again, landing smoothly atop the wall of ice.

From that perch, Weiss could see that Ruby was having a field day down there. What Weiss saw was everything she'd come to wish she had herself; Ruby moved with the natural grace and confidence that came with certainty of purpose and confidence in her ability. This was Ruby in her element; no niceties, no distractions, just fighting to protect the people she cared about, people she didn't even _know,_ and even some people she _didn't like. _Her ability to place herself against such hopeless odds spoke volumes of the faith she had in her teammates, _In Weiss. _Weiss threw her head back and squeezed her eyes shut, pausing only for a deep breath as she silently apologized to Ruby once more before she returned her thoughts to the task at hand.

"Ruby! Get ready, I'm getting you out of there!"

"Go ahead whenever you're ready!" Ruby called back as she skewered another Beowolf on the Crescent Rose's blade, then discharging the rifle to slay another and tear the blade free again.

Without further ado, Weiss called up a glyph beneath Ruby's feet and thusly launched her partner skyward and back over the wall, where she landed on a foot, knee, and palm. Weiss herself waited only long enough to see the first wave of enraged Grimms break against the frozen barrier before she herself descended back to the ground, satisfied that it would hold. Meanwhile, the mass of Beowolves now trapped and surrounded within the gate was now shrinking fast, there now being no means of ingress for reinforcements.

"Great! So now we can mop up in here and then get up and shot the rest from the-!"

Ruby's victorious enthusiasm was cut off mid-sentence though as all their scrolls rang out, whether or not the owner was currently fighting, "What now?"

Weiss' eyes went wide as she consulted the message, "No, no! Why now?"

"Weiss what's-?"

"Unregistered aircraft moving on the courthouse," Weiss answered preemptively, "They're coming for Adam… In the middle of all _this!_"

"Do you think Team JNPR can handle it?"

"Six, seven…" Weiss counted the red dots on her display as they moved on the courthouse, "Nine of them, loaded for bear…" Weiss shook her head, worry coming to dominate her face, "I don't think so…"

Ruby glanced between Weiss and the ground several times, "Then… Then go; we can handle things here…"

"Ruby-,"

"We'll follow, I promise, but you've done enough here Weiss… Go… go save your dad… and…" She gave a sad little smile, "Show him why I… Show him what you're worth, okay?"

* * *

**Author's Note: We're coming up on the end now folks, I hope you're enjoying it. I will say that of any part of this story, this chapter had me stymied the longest… I'm trying not to repeat my set-pieces, but for the life of me, I couldn't think of how to choreograph this one. As I was **_**trying **_**to plan this one I constantly found my mind wandering to what I'm going to do with **_**next chapter's set-pieces… **_**A bit of a cart-before-the-horse quandary, I know… At any rate, please let me know what you think; the next chapter should be out next week, so until then, later!**


	22. When Mountains Move

**Author's Note: Okay, sorry for the wait, but here it is: the Grand Finale. Before we begin in earnest though, I feel obliged to explain that the first third of the chapter is actually focused on Team JNPR, specifically Jaune and Pyrrha, because I wanted to give them a little bit more spotlight and it seemed the best way to cut back to the courthouse and also because it meant that I didn't have to type running back through the streets with nothing in particular going on (a reasoning born of my own laziness, I freely admit). Anyway, enjoy, and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Ren, go into the courthouse and make sure that the judge, jurors, and Mr. Schnee are safe!" Jaune ordered, fighting his panic as the nine aircraft emblazoned with the White Fang insignia came into view, "Nora, see what you can do about keeping them off the ground!"

With a nod, Ren was off, and it was with a salute and an ear-to-ear grin that Nora pulled Magnhild from her back and began firing the heart-stamped pink projectiles into the oncoming wing, forcing evasive action. As the sky filled with explosions and pink Dust, Jaune deployed his shield, noting that Pyrrha had Milo in rifle mode, balancing it on Akouo as she braced for combat.

"Pyrrha, give 'em hell!"

With a nod of her own, Pyrrha took aim and fired a quick succession of rounds towards the cockpit of the nearest approaching craft. The slugs shattered the windscreen, and apparently struck the pilot, as the craft abruptly lurched, listing and losing altitude.

"Everybody clear out!" Jaune screamed, "It's coming down!" He shot Pyrrha a grateful, if also worried look, "Great shooting Pyrrha, and uh… Remind me to _never _piss you off…"

She smiled, "Noted, but I think we have more important things to worry about at the moment-,"

Another one of the craft went down, having taken one of Nora's pretty little explosive devices to the starboard turbine. The police contingent moved to secure the two crash sites, but there weren't enough of them to do much else, and the pilots of the other seven airships were getting wise, pulling up into a high circling pattern just beyond Nora's range after dropping a dozen or so White Fang foot-soldiers each. One of the ships, however, set down on top of the courthouse, presumably the actual getaway vehicle, but there were too many on the ground to worry about that.

_Ren can handle it…_

"Alright Pyrrha, let's do this!" Jaune shouted, forcing more bravado than he felt as the two of them charged forward into the assembly of White Fang ground forces.

Jaune held his shield up as he charged, shouting a battle cry that he sincerely hoped didn't sound as pathetic as he thought it did. As they met with the first of the enemy he bashed the nearest hooded opponent aside with his shield, following up with a sword-stroke whilst Pyrrha knocked several of the thugs from their feet with a low throw using Akouo. As Jaune turned to engage another opponent, he was only just barely able to catch an arcing slash with his own sword from an attacker who'd slipped in behind him while he hadn't been looking. As they fought for dominance though, three concussive discharges rang out, and with a jerky stumble, Jaune's assailant collapsed, unconscious.

_Way too close… _"Th-thanks Pyrrha,"

"Any time," she smiled again as she caught Akouo in one hand and spun to slam another attacker to the ground with Milo's stock, then converted it back to sword mode, "Now let's get this done,"

Jaune nodded, resuming a more stable fighting stance, "Let's do this!"

And so they did. Attacking and defending, blocking, parrying, and countering. Still, it was two against dozens, and each time one oncoming goon was knocked back he was replaced by two more. To be sure, some of them, mostly those that came at Pyrrha, did go down for the count, but just as many got back to their feet, and soon enough Jaune and Pyrrha were forced back to back, totally surrounded.

"Okay, don't panic," Jaune said aloud, trying to reassure himself more than Pyrrha, "We can still make this work…"

"Hey Jaune," Pyrrha asked as she emptied another clip into the oncoming mob, buying a precious few seconds, "If we make it out of this…"

_Oh God, what do you mean 'if?'_

"… Could we um… do dinner or something?"

_Is she serious? Like, a date, dinner? What the Hell am I-, are we thinking? This really isn't the time! _"Yeah, sure, we just-," He broke off to catch another blow on his shield, then countering with a thrust, sending his hooded attacker reeling, "We just gotta-," He parried an axe, bashed the wielder in the face with his shield, and knocked him down and out with an uppercut, "We just gotta make it through this first… then we can do dinner wherever, yeah?"

There was a sudden noise not dissimilar to that of the ringing of a low pitched tuning fork, momentarily followed by the sound of a score of metallic clattering noises, "Right; it's a date!"

Jaune chanced a brief look over his shoulder, and found to his surprise that the spread of White Fang cronies that had been bearing down on Pyrrha were disarmed and perplexed as she dashed forward and introduced them to Milo and Akouo. He could have been imagining it, but he could've sworn she had a grin on her face supplanting her previous look of resigned determination. She'd used her semblance to disarm the attackers; that much was obvious, but what was more surprising was the sheer number of men she'd successfully rendered pretty much harmless.

_So that's how she won the Mystral cup four- Gah! Fight still going on…_

All having now seen what Pyrrha could do, the dynamic of the battle changed. Jaune was pinned down by three members of the White Fang at once, who took it in turns to harry the boy with blows or projectiles, which he would in his own turn block and occasionally attempt a counter-attack, though without fail the two he wasn't striking out against would move in to prevent this; the rest of them turned to encircle Pyrrha by herself.

_No, no! Not good!_

Jaune called up all the might he had, and with a bounding slash, he swatted aside the hooded goon before him and charged at the mob. Incidentally, this would prove to be excellent timing, as along with much of the closing ring around Pyrrha, the immediate area where he _had been _standing, and where his attackers presently remained, erupted in an explosion of pink.

"Did ya miss me!?" Nora shouted over enthusiastically, having finally given up on the circling airships, "'CAUSE HERE I COME!"

Fully deploying Magnhild's full length as she bounded over, giggling all the way, Nora giddily swatted one unlucky mook after the next. It was almost enough to make Jaune pity the poor jerks… almost…

Any misplaced sympathies were quickly forgotten however, as he noticed the crimson circle etching itself beneath Pyrrha's feet, _That looks like one of Weiss'… Wait, Weiss should be at the North… Oh please God no!_

He didn't look for the source of the glyph as it flickered into being, nor did he pause for thought, Jaune Arc simply barreled forward, shouting incomprehensibly as he knocked any obstacle aside and made a running leap for Pyrrha, tackling her and taking her to the ground several feet from where she'd been standing. The intervention hadn't come a moment too soon, because a column of flame issued from the ground that he'd just forced Pyrrha to vacate.

"What the… What the _Hell _was _that?_" Jaune asked no one in particular between gasps for breath.

"Um… Jaune…"

In an instant Team JNPR's leader was on his feet again, extending a quick hand to help his partner to her feet, "I am _so sorry _Pyrrha; I had to- I just saw-!"

Without waiting for him to finish, Pyrrha unceremoniously shoved him to the ground, just in time for a fireball to careen through the empty space where his face had been an instant earlier, "I understand Jaune…. And… Thanks,"

Jaune nodded his appreciative acknowledgement as she now offered him a hand up, and together they turned to view the source of the fire. One of the aircraft circling overhead had its starboard bay door open, in which stood a woman in red, swiftly obscured behind the angry crimson glyph that flickered into life before her. Jaune wasted no time, positioning himself between Pyrrha and the oncoming fire raising his shield. There was a bright white flash as his aura supplemented the shield and the fire disbursed in a broad scarlet flower.

"Jaune! Are you okay?"

He nodded, breathless and surprised that the maneuver had actually work, "Yeah, I'm fine… But who is _that? _She's like an _evil _Goodwitch… Ironically…"

But before he could finish his musings, Pyrrha held up Milo and fired back, "I don't know, but she means business,"

"Right," he glanced over to Nora as the woman in the ship overhead was preoccupied throwing up a barrier to catch Pyrrha's shells, "Nora! Keep the goons busy!"

Nora shot another little salute back between devastating swings with Magnhild, "Aye aye!"

Satisfied, Jaune positioned himself in front of Pyrrha once more, "Alright, keep firing Pyrrha, I'll cover you!"

With a nod, Pyrrha slid a fresh magazine home and aimed for another volley. Jaune kept pace with his partner as best he could as she strafed right to avoid the next incoming barrage of Dust-fueled fireballs. To Jaune's dismay though, rather than bursting harmlessly upon the ground, the burning orbs arced to follow them as they moved, gaining more and more speed as they went. Making a snap-decision, he turned back and planted his feet, raising his shield to once more catch the fire and finally halt the pursuit. When the flash dissipated though, he saw the spiraling column of flame surging towards Pyrrha from the enemy craft.

_It was a set up!_

In a fresh panic he broke into a stumbling dash back towards his partner, hoping against hope and his own sense of self-preservation that he'd make it in time. Pyrrha raised her shield to mitigate the effects of the inferno, but Akouo was neither big enough nor equipped to halt a Dust-barrage of this magnitude, and Jaune was yet several yards distant. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes.

_At least I got to ask…_

But the raining inferno failed to strike, instead spending itself against a sizable snowflake-shaped rune which glimmered into life just in time.

* * *

_Oh no you don't! _Weiss skated onto the scene barely in time to throw up a shield to keep Jaune and Pyrrha from harm, _Just… Just in time…_

She let the circle of protection evaporate once the raining blaze had fizzled out, "Are you guys alright?" she asked, sliding to a stop beside them, but never pulling her attention from the airship as it circled overhead to position itself to allow the enemy Dust-wielder another pass.

"Thanks to you," Pyrrha nodded gratefully, taking aim once more.

"Yeah," Jaune agreed, heaving gasps for air, "Damn… damn good timing their Weiss… but… but I thought you were supposed to be at… at the gate…."

"I am," Weiss admitted, "But they've got it handled there for now, and…" She bit her tongue a moment, "You need me more right now."

"No argument here," Jaune acknowledged.

"Where's Ren?"

"He's inside," Jaune assured her, "he's gonna make sure the goons can't get at the uh… civilians inside or break Adam out,"

_That's too much for one person… _

"Hey, can you… Can you get one of us up there?"

"Onto the ship?" Weiss gaped.

He nodded, "I can't hit her from down here, and the thing's moving too fast for Nora to get a hit in,"

Weiss mulled it over, but only for a moment; the starboard side of the craft was coming about again, "Yes," she nodded, "but not _you; _you need to cover Pyrrha. Can you two hold out till I can free up Nora?"

"I think so… Just… be quick,"

Weiss nodded, "Hang in there then,"

Without a second thought, Weiss skated forward to where Nora danced about, swinging Magnhild with glee, keeping a mass of White Fang agents off balance single handed. Activating Myrtenaster's light blue setting, Weiss froze a third of them within a slab of ice as she surged past.

"Nora-!"

"OOOh! Hey Weiss!" Nora called over, and unerring smile plastered across her face, "Good to see ya!"

"We need to deal with these guys fast so we can take that airship down!"

Nora glanced up quizzically even as she smacked another masked mook to the ground, "I tried that-,"

"We're gonna launch _you _this time,"

Were it even possible, Nora's expression lit up even more brightly, nodding vigorously, "Alright, let's break stuff then!"

With that Nora spun with even more excitement. For her part, Weiss dashed in, thrusting, slashing, and launching a series of pirouette strokes to mow down a handful of White Fang foot-soldiers in quick succession. Soon enough the last of the goons were either frozen in place or groaning on the ground.

_Maybe… Maybe we can do this…_

After a brief pause for breath to recover from the day's sustained exertion and noting that the raining plumes of fire had resumed some distance away in Jaune and Pyrrha's direction, Weiss turned back to Nora, "You ready for this?"

"Lemme at 'em!"

Nodding, Weiss turned to her target, using Myrtenaster as a sort of guiding rod as she conjured a white glyph at Nora's feet. Altering the properties of the rune so that Nora wouldn't fall off, Weiss slanted the impromptu springboard towards the target, took a deep breath, and fired.

Laughing giddily as she went, Nora somersaulted through the air at the offending airship. Stretching out with Magnhild, Nora smashed through the ships port engine prop and launched herself backwards again with a detonation at Magnhild's head, serving both to spring her backwards end over end like a pinwheel and ensuring that the damage to the White Fang airship was catastrophic. Smoke and fire spewed from where the engine had been as Nora landed back beside Weiss, a satisfied smirk spread across her face.

"Did I do good?"

As the victim airship spun out of control, crashed, and burned, Weiss regarded the bubbly girl with some apprehension; not only was her mood perplexingly dissonant with the circumstances, and the sheer childish glee with which she'd utterly _demolished _an occupied aircraft, enemy or not, was a touch disconcerting, but then, that was Nora after all, and in fairness, despite the apparent destruction, Weiss reminded herself that the occupants would still be alive to arrest when the smoke cleared and let it go with a nod; Nora was exactly what they needed in this situation.

"Yeah, great-,"

Weiss' acknowledgement was interrupted by two coincidentally simultaneous and unexpected explosions. The first was a crimson fireball blasting open the hull of the recently down aircraft quickly followed by more blazing plumes firing off in Jaune and Pyrrha's direction. The other conflagration erupted from the side of the courthouse as Ren came tumbling out in a shower of bricks and shattered glass.

_It was too much…_

"Ren!" Nora was horrified, and bounded over without a moment's pause.

Summoning a glyph at her own feet though, Weiss was able to move faster and arrived at Ren's side in seconds as he groaned and strained to get up, "Ren, can you stand?"

He nodded, a grimace of pain dominating his features, "Don't worry about me," he cocked his head in the direction of the yawning hole in the building through which he'd come as Nora caught up, collapsing Magnhild to its grenade launcher form, "worry about _them,_"

Weis and Nora wheeled to confront the White Fang squad that poured through. Adam was in the lead.

_Dammit!_

Nora didn't wait for any further instruction, opening up with Magnhild and showering the area with pink detonations, "YOU JERKS ARE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

These ones were smarter though, as they moved to dodge and advance, rather than standing and taking the bombardment. The operatives that had sprung Adam were marked out from the others by black coats that they wore, not dissimilar to Adam's own. For his part, Adam had been re-armed, and given her own experience in battle with him, Weiss could see how all of them at once would have been too much for Ren. Then her blood ran cold as his gaze turned her way.

"Deal with these two," came Adam's harsh voice, "The Princess is _mine!_"

Weiss could barely react in time to parry the first sword strike, and rapidly backpedalled on her glyph to buy herself some room to breathe and an instant to think. Adam was not so obliging, however, and this time Blake wasn't here to pick up the slack, so instead of coming up with a plan, Weiss' attention had to be entirely devoted to blocking, parrying and dodging the flurry of slashes and thrusts.

_He's so fast… Too fast…_

In the course of defending and backing up to avoid harm Adam had forced Weiss to pull back to the front of the courthouse by the foot of the steps up to the entrance, placing her and easy few dozen yards from anyone on Team JNPR, even had they not all been occupied. Throwing up a barrier glyph to buy herself a few seconds to slide fresh Dust cartridges into Myrtenaster's chambers, she took the ejected, only partially spent once in hand as her opponent came dashing around the side of her defense.

"Payback time, Princess!"

"Here's your first installment then!" Weiss hurled the little glass vials to the ground and skated backwards as the colorful cloud bloomed from the shattering vessels, freezing, burning and shocking all at once.

_Did I-?_

"Nice try," he was behind her, "but that move's only gonna work once,"

Heart hammering, she did a slashing spin in hopes of catching him before he backed away from behind her, but no such luck, _He's too damn fast!_

Weiss knew better than to stand and attempt to weather the onslaught; remembering her experience on the train, she decided to take advantage of the much broader available space and attempted to circle around her target, attempting to hit him with a series of fire Dust projections. None of them connected, as Adam effortlessly dodged each one in turn, closing the distance between them with each one, even as Weiss did her best to keep that distance as broad as possible.

"That was a hell of a fight on the train, I'll give you that, Princess," He sneered as he seemed to materialize before her, forcing her to a sudden, stumbling halt, "But your friends can't help you this time!" The rifle-sheath was leveled at Weiss' head.

Acting solely on instinct, Weiss called up a barrier to shield herself. As rationality reasserted itself though, she took advantage of the circumstances and, causing the shimmering rune to rapidly brighten, she shot Adam flying backwards. She followed up by dashing forward to strike before he could regain his balance, and for once, it went her way. The force of the blow was blunted by her opponent's aura, of this Weiss was certain, but he was nonetheless thrown to the ground on his back when struck by the impact of Myrtenaster's point ramming into his sternum. It didn't put him down for long though; as Weiss came to a halt some yards away and rotated back for another pass, he was already springing back to his feet, and when she careened forward again, this time he parried. Rather than letting her skate off for a third attempt though, he wound his own arm around Weiss' own outstretched sword arm, effectively pinning her as the cold steel of his own weapon met with her jugular.

Weiss' eyes went wide, _Oh God, no…_

"I'll tell you what," there was a smug sneer visible on Adam's lips, even despite the mask, "you've got some fight in you; I like that…"

Weiss gritted her teeth as she struggled to free herself, but he was too strong, and she didn't want to think about what the blade at her throat would do to her if she jerked too much, _Think Weiss! How can you get out of this?_

"If you promise to behave yourself and do as you're told, I'll let you live to sit behind Daddy's desk after I _put him in the ground_," He continued, leaning in closer to whisper in her ear, "Level with me though; to watch the old bastard die… You'd settle for less…"

_No! _Weiss screamed inside her head, her face contorting with fear and anger, and decided to risk it all, conjuring a rapidly darkening glyph beneath both of them.

"Settle for _THIS, you BASTARD!"_

Suddenly it was as though the weight of the world was physically bearing down on her, and Adam was not spared; he stumbled under the unexpected gravity heaving them both to the ground, actually dropping his sword as he tried to break his fall. Seizing the opportunity as best she could even whilst stumbling herself, she pulled her arm back from her opponent's loosened grip and released the glyph so she could reel backwards and out of his reach and heave several exhausted gasps for air.

"You had your chance Princess," Adam growled through clenched teeth as he got back to his feet, "Now I'm gonna have to end you,"

Weiss tried to take a fresh fighting stance, but she was shaking all over from exhaustion, and it showed plain as day, "I'm not going to… I _refuse _to die today!"

Adam held up his gun-sheath and took aim, his contempt showing in this relaxed posture, "You shouldn't let you mouth write checks that your body can't cash-,"

He couldn't finish the condescending remark though, as mid-sentence he was cut off by and icy lance striking the gun from his grasp and the air grew frigid.

_Goodwitch? Isn't she at the …Daddy!?_

Abel Schnee started down the granite steps of the courthouse with slow, deliberate steps, drawing Prometheus from its sheath hidden in his cane and casting the sheath aside. The blade was thin, etched up and down with the Schnee sigil, and gleamed like polished ice as the patriarch of the Schnee household held it up at the ready, stepping down from the final stair.

"Step back Weiss,"

Adam snorted with derision, "Saves me the trouble of finding you, you old bastard,"

Like that, Weiss was forgotten, allowing her a much-needed respite. She couldn't relax though, nor could she really catch her breath. She was horrified.

_Father no! He's too-_

Adam was on him in an instant, sword like a striking snake. To the shock of Adam and Weiss alike though, Abel caught the stroke with his own weapon, holding the blow back long enough for a white rune to etch itself beneath the masked antagonist in black, and a pillar of ice thrust upward, missing Adam by mere inches as he sprang back.

"Got some tricks up your sleeve old man?"

Abel Schnee offered only the cold wrath etched on his face in response before a second, third, and fourth such column surged upward at slanting angles in an effort to spear the masked White Fang leader. Adam sidestepped to avoid the first of the set, ducked the second, and leapt to avoid the last, landing on it and sliding down it towards Weiss' Father.

"Daddy!"

Her father stood firm as a mountain though, parrying the first blow and pushing back against the second, not letting Adam pull away as the shafts of ice crumbled, the Dust of which they were composed responded again to its master's will and came rushing back to strike Adam in the back with the force of an avalanche. The breath was driven from the Faunus' lungs as he staggered under the frozen blow, and Mr. Schnee knocked the blade from his opponent's slackened grip with practiced ease. Finally, he gathered the Dust back into his free hand and blasted his foe to the ground with it.

Weiss had never seen this side of her father; anger was familiar enough but this… this was different. It was a fair enough assumption that Father had trained just as she had in his youth, but that he was still so strong was shock enough in itself were it not for what she saw in his eyes. Somewhere between the wrath and condemnation for his foe, there were flickers of something she'd never thought she'd see in him, especially not amidst a victory: _fear. _

"You besmirch my name and besiege my livelihood," Mr. Schnee spoke, a dangerous tone in his voice as he took a step closer to his sprawling, groaning enemy, "You wage war upon _my_ house…" ice rapidly crept out from his footsteps, encasing Adam's fallen sword and the sheath some distance away as the wrath burned in his eyes, "And you raise a weapon against _my daughter…_"

His wits finally returning to him too late, Adam attempted to scramble backward, but a wall of ice rose behind him.

"Have you not read?" Abel Schnee's words grew deathly quiet, "Abel Schnee does not forgive," He moved the point of his sword beneath Adam's chin, "_Now stand and die upon your feet, you loathsome worm!_"

Weiss could only watch, a predicament which Adam, clearly as yet unaccustomed to losing, appeared to share, unable, unwilling, or too fearful to move, Weiss couldn't tell, and she wouldn't have the time to check. A column of fire raced towards Father from the direction from which Jaune and Pyrrha had been trying to deal with the enemy Dust-wielder.

_Jaune… Pyrrha... _

Abel Schnee halted the blast with a barrier glyph much the sort that Weiss herself favored, but as the fire spent itself against the impeccable defense, she saw that this attack was mere distraction; one of the airships was moving in for a landing, an Adam was scrambling to his feet to escape his distracted better and vault over the wall of ice towards where the getaway craft was moving to land.

_No!_

As she moved to intercept though, she found herself trailed by a rapidly closing fireball. She tried to defend herself, but she'd moved on adrenaline, and she hadn't the strength left to muster a barrier. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her weapon and looked away.

_This is it… I guess… Hey Ruby… I know I've said it before but… I'm sorry…And Daddy… I love you…_

But the fire and pain didn't come though; instead she was pulled back and held close and a brilliant white shield gleamed into life to stay the blaze.

"Daddy?"

"I told you to stand back!" he scolded, but nonetheless held her all the tighter, "For God's sake Weiss… I thought I'd lost you…"

"He was getting away…" Weiss tried weakly to explain herself as she saw the red woman board the airship behind Adam out of the corner of her eye, but couldn't bring herself to really care as the tears welled up in her eyes.

"Irrelevant," He shook his head, "Are you hurt?"

Weiss shook her head as the tears spilled over and stained her Father's white coat, "But I was so _scared…" _

"I know… I… so was I…"

* * *

**Author's Note: So… I agonized a bit over how I was going to resolve the tensions with Weiss' Father; on the one hand, I knew that I **_**wasn't **_**just going to have him abruptly change his mind on everything, but how to make it **_**work **_**eluded me for a while – Hell, maybe I still screwed it up, you'll have to tell me. Anyway, I wound up having Ruby give him a push, and as of this chapter, Adam kind of unintentionally gave him a **_**shove, **_**and lo do mountains move… Incidentally, for any of you interested in how I was trying to characterize the man, as I was writing the previous chapter, specifically the argument between Abel and Ruby, I imagined him essentially hearing nothing after "You should too!" this being the first major thing to sink in because he thought he was in doing what he thought was necessary to prepare his daughter for the future – this is why I used **_**Prometheus **_**for the name of the Family Sword, as in addition to the mythological tie-in, translated from the original Greek, Prometheus literally means "forethought." The other big mythological basis for Abel Schnee was Atlas – not so much as he pertains to the labors of Hercules, but rather in the sense that, at least in this story I've interpreted him a man who feels the need to bear the weight of the world, if not quite so literally. Getting back to the subject of resolving the outstanding issues though, I eventually settled on having him kick some ass to save his baby girl; it seemed appropriate seeing as ass-kicking seems to run in families in this universe (Ruby & Yang, The Arcs, etc.) This way I was able to fill the space between Father and Daughter **_**without **_**pulling a characterization 180 on a dime; the man's bitterness and conditioned prejudices aren't **_**gone, **_**but what matters here is that they weren't his priority here, Weiss was. This next bit may interest no one but myself, but originally the last line he shouts at Adam was going to read **_**miserable wretch, **_**but I changed it because, at least to my mind, **_**miserable wretch **_**carries a subtextual note of pity, albeit and extremely backhanded one. That said, I changed it to more appropriately reflect the wrath and contempt meant to be expressed. **

**On a separate note, I do apologize to any fans of Adam reading this; if his character seems a bit flat, that's because all I had to go on to establish his personality thus far was that one line in the Black Trailer where he doesn't care about what happens to the crew. **

**Finally, because this story is primarily devoted to Weiss' personal issues, and I'm trying to be cooperative with existing cannon as well hopefully not being too obtrusive to future events (I did say **_**trying**_**, but pre-cognoscenti I am not) and so yes, Cinder and Adam **_**do **_**escape. Before I put the "complete" stamp on this particular story though, there will be an epilogue, hopefully within the next week, in case you're wondering how the whole battle turned out (in an aftermath sense; the spectacle is over, I'm sorry to say). I hope you enjoyed the chapter and stick around for the epilogue; fav if you feel like it ,and please review; I am rather interested to see what everybody thought of Mr. Schnee when the chips were down. Anyway, do enjoy the rest of your day/evening/ (insert appropriate time span here)!**

**PS: It has been brought to my attention that my characterization slipped at the tail end of the chapter, so I have re-uploaded it with a few minor tweaks, just at the end though. **


	23. Epilogue: Just Fine

Vale Medical Center was a hive of activity after the assault on the city had been weathered; all the doctors were on site at once, the nurses pulled double shifts, and waiting rooms had to be repurposed as impromptu hospital wards, most all of the regular rooms being filled to double capacity. Walking through the place had proven itself to be an exercise in patience more than anything else. Nonetheless, the members of Team RWBY eventually found their way to the room where Jaune and Ren were laid up, finding Nora and Pyrrha asleep in their chairs, right where they'd left them the previous night.

"Are you guys feeling any better?" Blake asked quietly, trying to be considerate of the no-doubt exhausted girls of Team JNPR.

"Eh…" Jaune stretched out his arm, "I've been better, but then, I've definitely been worse… Yesterday, for a start…"

Weiss quietly took her seat next to Pyrrha, "I wish I could have-,"

"Okay people!" Yang burst in in utter disregard for the two sleeping girls, both of whom woke with a start, as she set down a stack of pizzas on the table between Jaune and Ren's hospital beds, "The pizza's on Weiss, so no anchovies this time!"

Blake's cat ears drooped under her ribbon, but she didn't complain, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Ren shook his head, "The staff has been busy…"

"Well then, we'll have to fix that!" Yang flipped the top box open, "Let's see… We've got cheese, pepperoni… Hey sis, you've got the plates, right?

"Uh…"

Yang's shoulders drooped, "Ah crud… _Okay… _I'll go get some from the cafeteria; try not to starve before I get back,"

Ruby looked back and forth between Weiss and Blake as her sister departed the room again and the smell of fresh pizza permeated, "Was I… _supposed to grab the plates?_"

Blake shrugged, "I don't think she said anything…"

"Who needs a _plate _anyway?" Nora said, stretching and yawning widely before getting up to grab a slice, "That's what…" another yawn even as she lowered the slice into her mouth, "Thash wa the cruss is fer,"

"When did you guys get to sleep?" Ruby asked, giving Pyrrha a concerned look.

Pyrrha sighed, "I um… maybe 3:00 AM?"

"You'll find yourself in the hospital right here with them if you don't let yourself get some rest," Blake advised.

"They shouldn't have had to come here at all…" Weis stared at the floor, "I should've-,"

"Nope,"

"Excuse me?"

"Nope," Ruby repeated, "I'm not gonna let you think like that Weiss; you left to help them as soon as you could, and beating yourself up over this… It doesn't help anything Weiss…"

"Maybe…"

"And besides," Jaune added leaning as far forward as he could from where he was propped up in his bed, "Yeah, Ren and I are in the hospital for a few day, but if you _hadn't shown up… _We might be in the _morgue…_"

Pyrrha nodded, "You saved our lives Weiss, don't forget that; I know I certainly won't,"

"Listen to her Weiss," Blake agreed, "Remember, you don't need to be everywhere at once; Pyrrha was able to pull Jaune to safety, and we all made it back okay, so _breathe,_"

"Yeah… Okay…"

"You would not _believe _how absolutely _packed _it was down there!" Yang abruptly returned holding eight plates, "… Did I… Did I miss something?"

Weiss leaned back in her chair with a sigh, "Nothing; I just… I'm glad that everyone's okay…"

Yang cocked an eyebrow, understanding the situation now, "Okay, listen here Weiss, I thought we were done with this? Lighten up! It all worked out, didn't it?"

Weiss glanced furtively at Ruby for an instant, and was somewhat relieved to see a shade of her usual eagerness finally coming back into her expression for the first time since they'd had their talk, "I guess it did… They got away but… I guess what matters is that we did too,"

"Atta girl!" Yang clapped her on the shoulder and handed her a plate, "We'll just have to get em next time, yeah?"

"Yeah," Weiss nodded, allowing herself a little smile, "Definitely,"

"Alrighty then! Now, who wants what?"

"I do hope that I'm not interrupting," All eyes in the room turned toward the entrance, wherein stood Professor Ozpin in the threshold, "May I enter?"

"Uh… sure…" Jaune and Ren nodded in unison.

"Much obliged young man," the Headmaster took a few steps into the room, "It's truly unfortunate that you find yourselves in here, but I'm pleased to see that all of you made it through this; I've been making the rounds to check on all of my students you see, and some… Some of your peers may take longer to recover,"

"Hey um..." Yang hesitated, "Is Cardin…?"

"A mild concussion, Miss Xiao Long, he'll recover in due time,"

Weiss shot the blonde a quizzical look.

"Oh don't give me that look!" Yang snorted, "The guy got between me and a Beowolf I didn't see; the least I can do is worry about him…"

"Yeah okay,"

"Oh shut up!"

Ruby giggled at the exchange, "I don't know Yang; you gotta pick somebody to go steady with sooner or later…"

"Sis, I swear to God-!"

Professor Ozpin cleared his throat, a little smile on his lips nonetheless, "At any rate, I'd like to congratulate both of your teams personally for a job well done,"

"But sir," The humor was gone from Weiss' voice again, "The White Fang got away with it-,"

"Under the circumstances, Miss Schnee, no one could reasonably have expected you to hold the line as you did; the authorities are investigating how this could have happened all at once, but they were hopelessly unequal to the task of defending the city when it mattered, as I'm sure that you've now seen," He paused for thought, "There may be a few civil engineers who have some choice words for you about the wall of ice at the north gate, but on the whole, I am certain that the citizens of Vale all thank you wholeheartedly," there was another pause as he shot Ruby an at once approving and sympathetic look, "And for what precious little it may be worth, I am quite certain that having assigned Team RWBY to Mr. Schnee's security detail was no mistake; again, well done,"

"The way I heard it, he didn't need us much…" Yang grumbled, putting a slice of pizza on her plate.

"Perhaps not," Ozpin allowed with a broader smile now, "But in fairness Miss Xiao Long, you weren't assigned there to _protect him, _strictly speaking…"

Weiss cocked her head, suspicious, "You knew…"

"I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about, Ms. Schnee," He dodged the question with a sly smile, "Athough… Mr. Schnee would like a word with you and Miss Rose. He's waiting just outside actually, if you ladies wouldn't mind obliging him,"

"He's… He's here?" Weiss stammered, "I'd have thought…"

After saving his daughter, Abel Schnee had taken charge of the effort to secure the courthouse square by virtue of being the most powerful force of order present, and after their reconciliation Weiss had the members of Team JNPR to worry about. Consequently, she hadn't actually seen him since shortly afterward, and hadn't been expecting to; experience suggested that he'd be on the first ship back to Atlas, but…

"Come on Weiss… Let's… Let's get this over with…" Ruby beckoned, standing hesitantly.

_Calm down Weiss… He's not going to…_

Nodding nervously, Weiss stood followed Ruby out of the room and shutting the door behind them waiting outside, just as Ozpin had said. _Prometheus_ had been returned to its sheath and its master rested both hands on the pommel as though it were the head of an ordinary cane. His face was stern as always, if not quite so unmoving as his eyes moved between the two girls by way of acknowledgement.

"Hello Father… I see you haven't returned home yet…"

"Indeed not," He nodded just so, "We've matters yet to discuss before I take my leave,"

"Um…" Ruby chewed her lip, struggling for the right words, "Thank you for saving my partner, sir,"

He regarded her dispassionately before he responded, "Of course; she is my daughter." he sighed, and his expression relaxed a bit, taking on a note of regret, "Though I am ashamed to say that I did not act sooner,"

"Daddy…?"

He shook his head, "I told myself that you needed to stand on your own two feet, Weiss, that you'd be better fit to carry the family name and the burdens that come with it… But the family name is nothing without a family to carry it…"

"Daddy…"

"There is room for improvement Weiss," his tone grew stern again, and then eased, "but I am not prepared to lose you,"

Weiss nodded, fighting back the tears and sense of validation she'd so long done without so as to keep her voice level, "Yes Father,"

"Sir," Ruby piped up, a self-conscious squeak in her voice, "I think she's just fine the way she is, sir,"

Abel Schnee scrutinized Ruby's nervous, fidgety manner searchingly, and then glanced back to his daughter, "Perhaps; although as her father, I must insist that you tell me what, Miss Rose, is the nature of your relationship with my daughter?"

"Uh… Um…"

_Daddy please… don't…_

"I… In the courthouse… that just sort of came out and-,"

"Good,"

"Huh?" Weiss and Ruby gawked in unison.

"Honesty, Miss Rose, is a quality I've found to be in short supply in my lifetime," Weiss' father explained, "And I've learned to take people at their word only when they speak their mind without consideration," he sighed, "That said-,"

"She's my best friend sir," Ruby interrupted, speaking with conviction, "My life's better for having her in it and…" she sighed, "I wouldn't change her for anything,"

"And this is true, Weiss?"

Nodding weakly as the tears spilled down her cheeks, Weiss threw her arms around her leader, partner, and friend, "The best friend I could ever ask for,"

**Author's Note: As I conclude this story, I want to take a moment to thank you all for taking the time to read this; originally it was going to just be a one-shot (the first chapter) but then I decided I actually wanted to write the practice match, and then I caught myself speculating about Weiss' back-story, and on and on until I've now found myself here at the end. It is in no small part due to the wonderful reception I've gotten on this story that I've been motivated to bring it this far, and in particular, I'd like to thank Tear of Light, Pressea, and BenRG for the consistent and helpful reviews, as well as anyone woho left a review, as your input has been incredibly helpful. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the story.**

**Now then, in the course of writing this though, I have learned an important lesson: never try to juggle college, work, my pitiful excuse for a social life, hobbies, _and _try to float two simultaneous major fanfictiion projects (major in the sense that they consume a great deal of my time) simultaneously. That said, I'll be concentrating on "We Were Close" until I conclude that, hopefully in the next few chapters. After that (or possibly simultaneously, against my better judgment, depending largely on how long "We Were Close" takes to wind to a close) my next post will probably be a Valentine's Day installment of "For Every Occasion." **

**Moving off into the slightly more distant future, I have plans for another story in this continuity, sort of a sequel in that sense, but not strictly speaking, as it will be set some fourteen years afterwards, which will alternate between focus on cannonical characters (specifically Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha as Beacon staff) and an OC team featuring Corolla Madchen (see chapter 16 if you haven't already) and possibly an alternate version of Mina Carfax. I'm open to suggestions about the characters to fill out that Beacon Team and the team acronym. If that interests you, then I look forward to hearing from you either in the form of suggestions or reviews when I start posting it. On a similar note, I may also write a series of One-Shots depiction noteworthy events between "I'm Not Perfect" and this as-yet admittedly hypothetical sequel so as to fill in some gaps that may or may not come up. **

**Anyway, that's enough about me, again I hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for all the feedback,**

**Half-Blind Otaku**


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